Chapter 76 Could such a coincidence happen in seven years?
Upon seeing the little mermaid named Qian Deng for the first time, Jiang Yuhuo immediately recalled the mermaid he had seen climbing over the wall the day Ji Yun kidnapped him. Hearing what had happened today, he realized that Qian Deng must have been trying to sneak away to see his lover down the mountain that day, but somehow he was caught. Now he was even imprisoned, forcibly separated from his lover down the mountain.
The one who gave this order was none other than Jia Yue.
Perhaps he has always been this kind of person, able to leave Liyue Village quietly after recovering from his injuries, and now he can ruthlessly sever the ties between his clansmen and ordinary people.
It has always been this way.
Faced with Jiang Yuhuo's words, Qingping felt for some reason that the person in front of her suddenly distanced himself from her. Although there were only a few steps between them, it was as if they were separated by some invisible force.
"Please don't misunderstand, young lady," Qingping said as she walked down the steps and tried to take her hand as before, but the other woman gently avoided her.
Qingping's outstretched hand stiffened for a moment before she explained, "It's not that mermaids dislike mortals, but rather that they cannot be compatible with them. Knowing that it cannot last, it's better to break off the relationship as soon as possible. Mortal lifespans are short, compared to the fleeting existence of mermaids. The two should never be together in the first place, so it's better to break off the relationship as soon as possible to avoid leaving the mermaids in pain later. You are an immortal, so you should understand this principle."
Jiang Yuhu recalled that her fellow disciples had said similar things, so she simply smiled and remained noncommittal. Perhaps she hadn't been a disciple long enough to shed her former mortal identity.
Qingping, unaware that she had only been in the immortal sect for seven years, assumed that her cultivation was profound and that she must have cultivated for many years. She continued, "Qian Deng grew up in Tianque, where everyone doted on him, which made him spoiled and arrogant. He never failed to get anything. This is the first time he hasn't been indulged, which is why he reacted so strongly. He'll be fine once his interest wanes. Children's tempers come and go quickly."
Jiang Yuhu nodded, "Yes, things done in youth shouldn't be taken too seriously."
Seeing her gentle expression, Qingping felt relieved and nodded in agreement, "It will all pass. As time goes by, when he grows up, he might not remember anything."
Qingping turned to look at the person beside her and saw that the usually aloof female cultivator was smiling this time, clearly agreeing with her opinion.
*
“Lord Zongzi, there is still a crack in the southeast Xun position.”
Inside the dark and empty cave, the white-robed disciple had barely finished speaking when a white figure flashed out from the depths of the cave. The white figure moved swiftly like a white rainbow to the southeast, hovering in mid-air. A dazzling light surged from between its fingers, pouring its powerful energy into a damaged part of the spirit array.
The powerful spiritual energy caused the man's blue hair to fly wildly. His cold and deep blue eyes remained fixed on the ever-expanding breach until the damaged area was gradually forcibly mended by the surging spiritual energy, eventually returning to a calm surface. Only then did he slowly fall back to the ground.
The wind inside the cave stopped.
The roars from deeper within the cave finally ceased, and the spiritual array surrounding the enormous cave resumed its stable operation, firmly suppressing the monsters deep within and preventing them from causing further trouble.
"What could be the reason that this monster has been imprisoned here for decades and hasn't moved for so long? Why did it suddenly go berserk recently?" After spending several days repairing the great formation, Ling Changyu asked the disciple guarding the formation with some fatigue.
The disciple also looked exhausted. "Reporting to the Dharma Protector, everything was fine before. The Spirit-Sealing Array had never had any problems. But one day, around noon, a sudden storm broke out, and the sky darkened for a moment. Since that day, cracks have begun to appear in the array."
Ling Changyu looked doubtful and muttered to himself, "Could it be that the celestial phenomena have moved this monster?"
However, he hadn't personally witnessed the unusual celestial phenomenon described by the disciples guarding the formation, so he didn't dare to draw any conclusions easily. He subconsciously wanted to hear the sect leader's opinion, but he saw that the other party wasn't with him at all, but was far away on the other side, seemingly observing something.
Ling Changyu followed curiously.
Jia Yue frowned slightly, his gaze lingering on the broken parts of the array for a long time. He moved his fingertips upwards, and an inconspicuous pebble on the ground was lifted up and floated in mid-air.
"It's not a celestial phenomenon, it's man-made."
It turned out that the Sect Master had heard his question, but the answer startled Ling Changyu. Who could possibly tamper with the Spirit-Sealing Array? This was an array set up by the Heavenly Palace Master Situ Xin and a group of elders back then. Any cultivator who touched it would lose all their spiritual power.
As Jia Yue raised the pebble, it changed in mid-air. The original outer shell of the stone gradually faded away, revealing a golden and red color inside, which looked like some kind of talisman.
But just as the two were trying to see the incantation on it, the talisman transformed into a butterfly and flew away.
Ling Changyu instinctively reached out to catch the butterfly.
"Don't touch it," Jia Yue said, stopping her.
Ling Changyu immediately stopped, but the spiritual energy he had released was too late to retract. The moment the faint spiritual energy touched it, the talisman butterfly seemed to be burned, completely incinerating in the air, turning into golden and red powder, and dissipating like ashes.
"What is this thing?"
It's quite beautiful. Ling Changyu has seen many talismans, but he has never seen one with such a gorgeous self-destructive style.
"The Wandering Light Spell." A puppet technique that captures souls and imprisons them in talismans for use as tools. These puppets can change shape according to their surroundings and can also quickly destroy all traces after the mission is completed. It was these puppets, which are not afraid of losing their spiritual power, that destroyed the spirit-sealing array.
Ling Changyu had heard of this spell before, but hadn't this ancient spell disappeared long ago?
“Not only did it not disappear, but this person is quite skilled at it.” Jia Yue pointed to another damaged area of the ground for Ling Changyu to see.
Ling Changyu looked down at the ground and found the same stones at every broken part of the formation. They were mixed in with the ordinary stones on the ground. If it weren't for the Sect Master's exceptional eyesight, an ordinary cultivator would probably not have been able to find them.
Looking at the puppet stones scattered on the ground, Ling Changyu's expression turned grave. "Who dares to destroy the Spirit-Sealing Array? Aren't they afraid of making an enemy of Tianque?"
"Send more disciples to protect the formation. This person failed once, so he will probably come again."
Unsuccessful? But this person has clearly caused multiple cracks in the Spirit-Sealing Array. Could it be...? Ling Changyu exclaimed, "Is this person not trying to break the array, but trying to enter it?"
But the thing locked inside the cave must never be touched by outsiders.
Jia Yue did not answer him. He looked at the huge magic circle that covered the entire cave, rolled up his sleeves, and a beam of light danced between his fingers. At the same time, the ground where the magic circle was located lit up with a blue light, adding another layer of mark to the original formation.
Zongzi's eyes were sharp, but his tone was calm: "If he comes again, he will only face certain death."
Ling Changyu couldn't understand what mark he had attached, so he squatted down again to look for the shimmering talisman stones. The paper butterflies with outstretched wings carried crimson incantations, exquisite and beautiful, and at the same time contained the power to destroy the spirit-sealing array. He couldn't help but sigh that although this person's origins were unknown and he harbored evil intentions, this skill alone was enough to make him a genius in the art of talismans.
“In the past few decades, we haven’t seen a single remarkable cultivator, but now one or two of them have suddenly appeared.” Ling Changyu sighed as he watched the talisman butterfly dissipate into sand in his hand.
Ling Changyu's sigh reached Jia Yue's ears, and subconsciously reminded him of the person he was trying so hard to avoid. The magnificent Kunlun Nine Swords and the raging flames that burned away the Five Elements Array during the competition were enough to amaze anyone present.
The image of her resolute and aloof features flashed through the merman's mind once again, and he had no choice but to close his eyes.
Ling Changyu is a rigid and conservative person who rarely shows praise to others.
"I remember you weren't there that day, so why do you say that?" The casual tone made it sound like a casual question during a chat.
Ling Changyu turned around and found that the Sect Master was already standing behind him. He immediately stood up and scratched the back of his head. "I've only heard about it. She's been staying in Xihua Palace these days, and people in the sect... often talk about her."
"What did they say?"
"As fellow cultivators, we talked most about her techniques in the competition. Of course, there were also some other things, um... about your relationship with her." Ling Changyu stammered. When asked by an adult, he had no choice but to tell the truth, but he couldn't tell everything.
"I have no relationship with her."
Seemingly hasty, Jia Yue added, "She's just here to use the sinking water to heal her injuries."
Ling Changyu nodded. "Yes, I've heard about it. It's said that her spiritual energy is actually quite limited, and she herself suffered very serious injuries in that battle."
It wasn't just her spiritual energy that was depleted; more importantly, it was the fire element within her body. Jia Yue frowned unconsciously, wondering how well she had recovered.
As her thoughts drifted away, she heard Ling Changyu continue, "But that's normal. According to Kunlun disciples, she only joined Kunlun seven years ago. Reaching this level in seven years using Kunlun's spiritual cultivation methods is already quite remarkable. She should be able to improve even faster once she gets the Spirit-Subduing Wood."
That's true. The Spirit-Demonic Wood would greatly benefit her cultivation of spiritual power, which is probably why she asked him for it earlier. But what else did Ling Changyu just say? Jia Yue thought for a moment and suddenly caught a key word.
"You just said...seven years?"
Ling Changyu was puzzled. What was going on? The Sect Master's face suddenly turned pale, and his voice seemed to tremble.
"Yes, it's said that she almost burned to death in a fire in the mortal realm seven years ago. She was found by the Zhenyang Mountain Man, who took pity on her because she was an orphan and was able to become a disciple of Kunlun. She was lucky..."
Before Ling Changyu could finish speaking, the usually aloof and composed Sect Master had already leaped into the air and hastily fled on the wind. His white figure streaked across the deep night, as fast as a shooting star.
Seven years, seven years...
Seven years ago, she survived a fire and entered the immortal sect.
Seven years ago, it was also the year he returned from the mortal realm and suffered amnesia and differentiation...
Is such a coincidence possible?
Could it be her?
My usually rational and calm mind is now a jumbled mess.
A voice warned him: Stop daydreaming. She just happened to enter the immortal sect that year. Countless people enter the immortal sect every year. Do you want to treat every woman who enters as that mortal you have forgotten? That person is already dead.
On the other side, a voice rejoiced: It must be her, it must be her! She didn't die. She was rescued by the man from Zhenyang Mountain during that human calamity. It couldn't be a coincidence. Everything makes sense. It must be divine mercy that brought her back to your side.
Two voices clashed fiercely in my mind, like a pot of boiling water, arguing, shouting, and hissing, evenly matched.
But all of that vanished the moment he saw her.
The moment I saw her, my mind instantly became as clear as a deep pool, hiding all those secret desires deep within, reflecting only her plain face.
In the dark bedchamber, she lay quietly on the bed. The night breeze stirred the light gauze curtains along the edge of the bed, occasionally brushing against her hair, soft and gentle, like a lover's hand that wanted to touch but then withdrew.
In the darkness, the merman knelt by the bed, his gaze carefully tracing the features of the sleeping woman. His incomparably handsome face drew close to hers several times, but he never touched her face. Instead, their breaths mingled, exchanging their essence with each inhale and exhale.
The dry scent of incense filled his nostrils, gradually warming the merman's cold heart.
He pressed down hard on the silver snake in his sleeve, which was frantically trying to rush towards her, as if pressing down on his own restless and anxious heart.
"Don't disturb her." He heard his own deep, soft voice.
Soon, very soon he will find out if it is her.
If it really is her...
The merman silently curved his lips into a smile. He picked up a strand of her hair with his hand; the black hair was cool and smooth, almost slipping through his fingers. He gently stroked it a few times, then raised his hand and pressed the strand of hair to his lips.
My first intimate touch with her was as light as foam on the sea.
She knew nothing.
The merman reluctantly released her hair, and a strand of black hair slipped back onto the pillow. The moment the hair tip brushed against his fingers, it brought a tingling sensation to his heart, making him tremble slightly.
He should have cut off that strand of hair, but he couldn't bear to, so he found a few fallen hairs on the pillow and held them tightly in his palm.
*
The night was deep and quiet, and the entire Tianque Mountain was shrouded in silence.
The disciple guarding the Spirit Valley Tower was drowsy, but in his hazy state of consciousness, he saw a white figure. The figure swept in like the wind and landed silently.
Upon seeing that signature long gray-blue hair, the tower-guarding disciple instantly snapped out of his daze and hurriedly bowed, "Greetings, Sect Master."
With a flick of his wide sleeves, he brought a delicate fragrance of Udumbara flowers. The newcomer did not look at him, but simply waved his hand in greeting before walking straight into the tower.
The moment the person in the white robe with silver embroidery stepped in, the dark Linggu Tower was instantly illuminated, and the orders of the clan leader echoed from the spacious and tall tower hall.
"Open water mirror".
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