Thanks to the spiritual power brought by Pei Ji, when Ning Ning opened her eyes from her sleep, the annoying heat in her body had mostly dissipated.
The cave was very quiet, and the only sound was the faint sound of burning firewood. She was sleepy and couldn't see anything clearly. In her hazy vision, she vaguely saw Pei Ji move not far away.
As if he lowered his head in a hurry.
After a moment, he raised his eyelashes again as if inadvertently, and said in a deep voice: "Are you feeling better?"
When he spoke, he returned to his usual deadpan expression, and his tone was equally flat and indifferent, with no emotion to be heard.
Perhaps because he had transferred too much spiritual power to Ningning, Pei Ji's face took on a somewhat sickly pale color, and his eyes were a dark blue, which turned into a thin light pink when illuminated by the flickering flames.
...Did he stay here all the time she was asleep?
Ningning's head moved a little slowly, and she stared at him motionlessly for a long while.
Pei Ji was originally looking at her indifferently, but after a while, for some unknown reason, he looked away with some embarrassment.
"Don't think too much."
He said, “I wasn’t looking at you.”
oh.
Ningning blinked and continued to be confused.
She didn't ask this kind of question...
"Did you say before that you wanted to go out for some fresh air?"
She touched her head, which was no longer so painful, and tried to recall the vague memory of the fever. The more she thought about it, the faster her heart beat. Her voice gradually turned into a mosquito's buzzing: "Did you find any useful clues outside?"
She had indeed been held in Pei Ji's arms.
Although they used the name of transferring energy, the posture between the two of them at that time seemed too ambiguous.
What's more, after that, she actually lay in Pei Ji's arms and poked him with her spiritual power. That random fluttering and that ambiguous "Are you comfortable?"
Ningning's temple was throbbing.
Pei Ji didn't push her over when she acted recklessly, which shows that he is truly a kind-hearted person at heart.
Now that he never mentioned that matter, Ning Ning also let it go and listened patiently to Pei Ji: "This place is different from the other levels of the tower. It is a pagoda realm."
Ning Ning was startled: "Buddha Realm? Are you sure?"
She had heard of the term.
Similar to the spirits formed after a mortal dies, demons or monks with successful cultivation can use their spiritual power to form an illusion and reproduce their memories. The pagoda used for training in the Xuanxu Sword Sect was based on this prototype.
"When I was in the forest, I ran into a demon woodcutter."
Pei Ji no longer looked into her eyes. He lowered his eyes and stared at the flame in front of him. "Unlike the evil demon in the Demon Refining Tower, that demon is kind and gentle. When asked about what happened here, he only said that the war between immortals and demons lasted for a long time and his people suffered greatly."
In other words, this memory took place during the war between immortals and demons.
Another battle between immortals and demons.
Ningning thought that she seemed to have a strong connection with this past event.
Pei Ji spoke briefly and to the point, his throat moving slightly as he finished speaking.
He also wanted to tell her that although he met the woodcutter in the forest, he had actually never left the cave.
Ningning looked so terrible that he was so angry that he couldn't stand the provocation and ran away in a panic. This was not a gentlemanly act. When he got out of the cave, it was impossible for him to keep her out of his sight.
However, it was really awkward to say this, as it always sounded like...how much he cared about her.
Although he did care about her.
"If this is the Buddha Realm," Ning Ning hesitated, "the Demon Refining Tower itself is also a secret realm, then where we are now... isn't it a realm within a realm?"
Pei Ji nodded: "Not bad."
He paused, his angular face outlined in a smooth arc by the firelight, and his voice was very clear: "If you want to leave this level of the Buddha Realm, you must find the culprit who created the illusion. If you break it forcibly, it is likely to cause the formation to become unstable and difficult to escape."
The reason why the Buddha Realm appears is often due to strong obsession and emotion. Many heart-wrenching, unattainable, or unforgettable memories can be reproduced in it.
Just like the pagoda tower, the best way to escape from the pagoda realm is not through violence, but to follow the memory step by step and help the owner of the illusion to eliminate the inner demons.
"How strange."
Ning Ning looked around and felt that the scenery in the illusion was no different from the real world. Finally, she focused her eyes on Pei Ji's profile: "The people imprisoned in the Demon Refining Tower are all evil demons who are unforgivable... Even they would have such a deep obsession?"
She thought that the evil spirits in this place were no different from the shadow demons, who only knew how to twist around like coal balls.
But it makes sense. Humans, immortals, demons and ghosts all have desires. She has been influenced by so many costume dramas and has long understood the clichéd truth that "demons also have emotions."
It's only the sixty-second floor, so he must be a great demon at least at the Nascent Soul stage. What could have happened to make him like this?
“The Buddha Realm still needs to be explored in detail.”
Pei Ji was silent for a while, then said slowly: "When I was outside the cave, I met an old friend."
"Old friend?"
The moment these two words came out of her mouth, Ningning suddenly heard a rustling sound in the forest outside the cave, followed by a white shadow flashing by.
The young man who brushed aside the vines and walked into the cave had a slender figure and a graceful demeanor, and was dressed in a white robe as white as snow, stained with a few drops of blood like red plums. In addition to his pure and otherworldly appearance, he also added a bit of fierceness.
When his eyes met Ningning's, he slightly curved his eyes, like eyebrows illuminated by the firelight: "Junior Sister."
"Senior Brother Meng Jue!"
Ning Ning didn't expect to meet so many people from the same sect. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, "How long have you been here?"
"Before you."
Although Meng Jue was smiling, his expression was always very indifferent, as if smiling was just his most common expression and he always had it on his face.
As for what he was thinking, Ningning couldn't tell.
"I met Junior Brother Pei when you were in a coma, and then I went to the forest to investigate."
There was a hint of teasing in Meng Jue's tone: "I originally planned to have him go with me, but he insisted on guarding the cave entrance and refused to leave."
Pei Ji's long eyelashes trembled slightly, he frowned and said nothing.
Ning Ning didn't notice anything wrong, and asked curiously: "Brother, have you found anything fishy?"
"This place should be in Qingzhou, in the Chongling Mountains."
Meng Jue replied calmly: "It is said that there are many witchcrafts in Qingzhou, and there are many poisonous insects and giant beasts in the mountains, and Chongling--"
He paused, the smile on his lips widened: "It is the lair of one of the demon lords, Xie Yu."
Ningning: ...
So your expression really became excited, right? She caught the smile in his eyes! It turns out that this kind of thing is the one that can make the eldest senior brother happy!
Ningning suddenly recalled the first time she met Meng Jue and the fear she felt when he taught her swordsmanship all day and all night long.
Apart from the fact that his temperament was a bit crooked due to Tianxianzi's influence, one has to admit that he is a true swordsman.
Ning Ning turned into an emotionless question mark machine: "Xie Yu?"
"Xie Yu is an extraordinary person."
Meng Jue narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at her calmly: "The slave system still exists in Qingzhou. He was born in a lowly family and his family has been slaves for generations, but he was born with excellent cultivation roots. He endured humiliation for many years and finally became a demon through evil magic. From then on, his cultivation increased greatly and he was listed as a demon lord."
This is a ruthless person.
But Ningning couldn't understand. If he just survived in the world as a slave, let alone becoming a demon lord, even if he wanted to learn how to practice, it would probably be extremely difficult.
Perhaps there was something hidden in this. She thought about it for a long time but could not figure it out. She was too embarrassed to interrupt Meng Jue, so she could only nod and listen to him continue to speak with interest:
"Xie Yu is a vindictive person. After his cultivation level increased greatly and he became famous, he returned to Qingzhou during the war between immortals and demons, causing great suffering to the people. Those who bullied him never had a good ending, for example-"
He hesitated when he said this, his pupils flickered slightly, and he pursed his lips and smiled.
Ningning immediately understood the meaning of this smile.
The deaths of those people were so tragic that Meng Jue took her feelings into consideration and swallowed the detailed description back into his stomach.
"The one who can create the Buddha Realm must be a great cultivator."
She thought for a moment and whispered, "With the identity of Demon Lord Xie Yu, it seems to coincide with the evil spirit in the Demon Refining Tower... Could this be his memory?"
Meng Jue shook his head: "It's unknown. If we recognize the wrong master of the Buddha Realm and help the wrong person in the illusion, causing our obsession to become chaotic... then I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to get out again."
Xie Yu didn't sound like a good character. Ning Ning didn't want to help him from the beginning. She smiled and said, "Since Xie Yu did so many bad things, what was his final outcome?"
“This is the part that I am most confused about.”
The white-robed swordsman frowned. Although his pupils were illuminated by the firelight, his eyes were full of darkness. "One day, Chongling was hit by a catastrophe. Wildfires raged and thunder struck. After the disaster subsided, there was no sign of life. Not only the civilians who lived here, but even the Demon Lord Xie Yu himself disappeared."
Ningning was stunned.
"Beyond this forest is the town where Xie Yu once lived. We might as well go there and ask around. Maybe we can get some clues."
He chuckled as he spoke, and his eyes flickered to Pei Ji in the corner: "I wonder what you think, Junior Brother Pei?"
Ningning turned to look at him.
When she was talking to Senior Brother Meng just now, Pei Ji didn't say a word.
Meng Jue and Pei Ji, one white and one black, faced each other, and the sense of opposition between them was stronger than ever before.
The former was dressed in fluttering white clothes, looking bright and elegant, while in front of Pei Ji was the shadow of a mountain wall, which dyed the boy's already dark pupils into a dull dark color.
Tall and thin, with a straight spine, like a pure black sword.
Pei Ji held the long sword in his arms, his throat moving slightly: "Hmm."
=====
This forest is not big. After passing through the dense bushes, you can soon see the houses in the town.
According to what Meng Jue had seen from the demon tribe's statements, now was the time when immortals and demons were fighting and Xie Yu was occupying Chongling.
The small town in the mountains has inconvenient transportation, and most of the residents rely on self-sufficiency to fill their stomachs, so they are naturally not rich.
Most of the buildings here are wooden houses. One can imagine the tragic scene of devastating losses when wildfires spread in the future.
Ningning looked around and saw two out-of-place shadows at the entrance of the town.
One of them was wearing a monk's robe and had a shiny bald head; the other one had delicate features and looked familiar. He was Bai Ye, the talisman practitioner from Liuming Mountain.
In front of the two men stood a rather bewildered townsman.
The two of them were facing the direction where Ningning and the others were coming from, and if they just raised their eyes slightly, they would happen to look into their eyes.
When Bai Ye saw Ningning, his expression froze.
He could never forget the sight of this girl running towards him like a dancing zombie.
It is simply his adult shadow, the kind that occasionally appears in nightmares, twisting and turning.
Meng Jue was indeed the most beautiful girl in Xuanxu Sword Sect. The moment he saw the two of them, he smiled and said, "Daoyou Bai Ye, Young Master Yonggui."
It turns out that the little monk's name was Yonggui.
They were not familiar with each other, so when they suddenly met, they could not help but exchange some polite words, or in other words, flatter each other.
Ning Ning always felt that these words sounded too awkward. In order to avoid being too embarrassed, she had already developed a magical skill to entertain herself.
Replace all the convoluted terms used in the immortal sect with down-to-earth terms such as compulsory education.
For example, now.
Bai Ye tried his best to calm his expression and laughed loudly, "So you are fellow Taoists from Xuanxu Sword Sect! Young Master Yonggui, you may not know these people - they are all disciples of Elder Tianxian. This is Brother Meng Jue, who has reached the sixth level of Nascent Soul at a young age. It only took him less than half a month to learn Taiwu Sword Art."
——This student Meng Jue skipped a grade and came to the third year of high school at the age of twelve. It only took him less than half a month to finish a book called "Five Years of College Entrance Examination and Three Years of Simulation".
Meng Jue easily concealed his impatience and listened to him continue: "This is Junior Sister Ningning. She shines brightly in Xiaochong Mountain. She was the first in the Jindan stage in the last round of the Ten Dharma Conference. She is a well-deserved young talent."
——This student Ningning not only achieved excellent results in the Mathematical Olympiad, but also won the first place in the high school group of the last English Speaking Contest. She is a well-deserved seed player for Peking University and Tsinghua University.
"And Junior Brother Pei Ji, he was the one who killed the demonized tree monster in the ancient forest. Although he has only been a disciple of Elder Tianxian for a short time, he is about to break through to the golden elixir stage."
——Student Pei Ji solved the last question of the monthly math exam. Although he has only been transferred to the school for a short time, he has already jumped to the top of the honor roll.
It is very down-to-earth and in line with Marxist materialism and the core socialist values.
Bai Ye spoke passionately, and the townspeople nearby could no longer bear to listen, speaking with a slight accent: "Do you still want to listen to the rest? If not, I'm going home."
Bai Ye tried to persuade him to stay: "No, no, no! Let's continue talking about the selection of concubines!"
Ning Ning asked curiously, "Choosing a concubine?"
"yes."
The townsman glanced at her, then pointed at Bai Ye and the young monk Yonggui and said, "The Demon Lord is selecting a concubine, and these two are planning to participate."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
