Chapter 164 The illusion of residual regret
The warm campfire was still burning when Qingyu, unable to resist a wave of drowsiness, curled up next to Feng Yue and fell asleep.
Yu Qianling seemed tireless, constantly talking to Yu Xuan about the past. After a long time, she yawned continuously, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. She leaned against the rock and began to take a nap.
Seeing this, Yu Xuan smiled and gently rested her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, she opened her sleepy eyes and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's okay, you can go back to sleep."
"Oh..." Yu Qianling responded and slowly closed her eyes. Her even breathing breathed into his ear, making him feel a little distracted.
After a long while, Yu Xuan seemed unable to resist such unintentional teasing, so he reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his embrace. Sure enough, she felt much better instantly.
Looking at Yu Qianling, who was completely unguarded towards him, he felt a mix of emotions, a bittersweet feeling.
The good thing is that she trusts him.
The worry is that she trusts him, but only as a partner or a respectable opponent, not as someone she loves.
Thinking of this, Yu Xuan couldn't help but sigh: What should he do with her?
After a long while, Feng Yue's intermittent babbling could be heard, and the sound grew louder and louder, as if he were being haunted.
"Fourth Junior Brother?" Yu Qianling opened his eyes groggily, scratched his head and walked towards Feng Yue, leaving Yu Xuan completely bewildered.
She took the dried black robe and wrapped it tightly around Feng Yue, then lay down on her side and gently patted his shoulder. "It's alright, it's alright, the black robe is here, and your senior sister is here too..."
As they talked, Feng Yue's nightmare-like ramblings stopped, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Yu Qianling yawned, then collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep.
This move stunned Qingyu, who was standing next to her. She and Yuxuan exchanged a glance and lowered their eyes, neither of them saying a word for a moment.
In this cutthroat world of cultivation, genuine emotions are extremely rare, and a strange sense of jealousy arose in my heart.
It has nothing to do with romantic love between men and women, but rather with mutual trust, reliance, and bond.
Qingyu suddenly felt a little annoyed. She sat down by the fire with her knees drawn up to her chest, occasionally poking at the embers with a small stick. Sparks crackled in the quiet cave.
"Is it just the two of you on this journey?" Yu Xuan couldn't sleep for a while, so he started chatting with someone at random.
“No.” Qingyu’s face showed anger. She poked the fire and said, “There were originally many people, but they abandoned me and ran away.”
Yu Xuan frowned and sighed. Seeing that he looked very unhappy, she didn't ask any further questions.
The firelight flickered, and after a short while, Feng Yue groggily opened his eyes and saw Yu Qianling. He was somewhat surprised and stammered, "Third Senior Sister..."
"Hmm, hmm..." Yu Qianling turned away impatiently, muttering a few words, "If you make another sound, I'll beat you to death..."
"..."
Feng Yue felt intense pain all over his body and sat up with a grimac. He saw Yu Xuan and Qing Yu looking at him, so he subconsciously pulled his black robe tighter around himself.
Only then did they notice that his mask had been removed at some point, so they hurriedly put it back on.
Seeing him like this, Qingyu felt a pang of heartache in her eyes, so she got up and walked towards him, saying, "Now that you're awake, take this pill."
Feng Yue's dark eyes, hidden beneath the mask, carefully observed him. Finding that he didn't seem angry, he took the pill and swallowed it.
"Th-thank you..."
Upon hearing this, Qingyu paused for a moment and said, "No need to thank me... I owe you after all."
After a short rest, Feng Yue was able to walk normally again.
After a good night's sleep, Yu Qianling wandered around and unexpectedly discovered a secluded stone path. She then called everyone over to discuss their next route.
Yu Xuan: "They just said that there are monsters everywhere outside. Why don't we go over here and take a look?"
"Okay, fine." Yu Qianling looked at Qing Yu behind him and asked, "You don't have any objections, do you?"
"No."
"Alright then, let's go!" Yu Qianling strode ahead, and Yu Xuan, fearing that she might be in danger, immediately followed and became cautiously on guard.
Inside the winding, secluded stone path, the sound of dripping water could be heard from time to time.
The further they went in, the hotter the air became, causing everyone to instinctively tug at their clothes.
Yu Xuan looked at the water stains that had been flowing on the stone wall and saw that they had dried up instantly, and he felt a little uneasy.
Yu Xuan: "Something's strange here. We'd better turn back quickly."
Yu Qianling: "What are you afraid of? At most, it's just some demonic beasts. If we join forces, we should be able to handle them. Let's go!"
Yu Xuan knew he couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "Alright, then everyone should be careful, that's always the right thing to do."
"Don't worry, I'm here." After saying that, Yu Qianling summoned a crimson spear, held it horizontally to his side, and strode forward.
Seeing Feng Yue moving slowly, Qing Yu slowed her pace and hesitated for a long time before stepping forward to support his arm. "You're so slow! Hurry up, we're going to fall behind!"
"I'm sorry..." Feng Yue looked at the stone path ahead and saw that the two figures were no longer visible. He then said, "Then, you go ahead and follow them. I'll catch up later."
Upon hearing this, Qingyu awkwardly turned her face away and mumbled, "You...you stop talking nonsense and hurry up and leave!"
The light was dim, and Feng Yue couldn't see the expression on his face. He could only respond softly and quicken his pace as the man helped him along.
"Qianling, what's wrong!?"
Yu Xuan's anxious voice came from not far away. Feng Yue and the other person quickly went forward and saw Yu Qianling stop and stand there blankly.
"What's wrong with her?" Qingyu asked.
When Feng Yue saw her suddenly move and crash into the rock wall beside her, he rushed to block her way and was immediately struck by her, causing a sharp pain in his injured area.
"Grab her!" Qingyu exclaimed in alarm, supporting the gasping Feng Yue. Turning her head, she saw Yu Xuan holding her tightly and asked anxiously, "What's going on?"
"I don't know either!"
As Yu Xuan was speaking, Yu Qianling suddenly broke free from his arm, and her spiritual power surged. She then unleashed a powerful spear strike at the rock wall beside her.
With a loud rumble, the rock wall collapsed, raising clouds of stone chips and dust. By the time everyone reacted, Yu Qianling had already disappeared.
Yu Xuan was extremely anxious. Only then did he realize that the place that had just been pierced actually contained a hidden world inside. "You all stay here, I'll go after her!"
Feng Yue clutched his aching chest, looked at the pierced rock wall, and after a moment's thought, said, "No... I have to go find Third Senior Sister."
"Okay, I'll help you."
Yu Xuan chased after her with his sword and finally found Yu Qianling in a cave. She looked somewhat blank and stood on a stone platform that floated in the air.
"Qian Ling?"
Yu Xuan composed himself and dared not rush forward to disturb her.
She still did not respond. She reached out and touched the stone ball in front of her that was glowing with colorful light. Suddenly, a red light flashed and a wave of hot air rose up, causing Yu Xuan to take a few steps back.
Seeing the red light illuminating the stone cave, which made Yu Qianling appear ethereal, Yu Xuan was extremely anxious and was about to step forward, but was stopped by a powerful force.
Suddenly, her body slowly floated into the air, her robes fluttering in the wind, and strands of red hair shimmering with golden light. She exuded an unparalleled aura of power, causing Yu Xuan to tremble slightly.
"What terrifying power..."
At this moment, Feng Yue and Qing Yu also arrived, and were shocked to see Yu Qianling's current appearance.
Suddenly, the blinding red light dissipated, and a red feather gleaming with a strange, precious light floated in front of her.
Qingyu asked, "What kind of precious feather is this?"
Yu Xuan pondered for a moment, then hesitated and said, "It looks like a phoenix's precious feathers..."
Yu Qianling reached out and lightly touched it, and the shimmering feather transformed into a red light that suddenly pierced into her brow, causing her previously floating body to abruptly fall.
"Third Senior Sister!"
Seeing this, Yu Xuan leaped into the air and caught her, immediately taking her away from the vicinity of the stone platform.
Seeing Yu Xuan probing her spiritual veins, Qing Yu stepped forward and asked, "How is she?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Xuan's face was full of doubt. "His pulse is normal, it seems like there's nothing wrong..."
Feng Yue, still worried, stepped forward to check her pulse and found that it was indeed as Yu Xuan had said. He shook her shoulder and said urgently, "Senior Sister, wake up!"
At this moment, Yu Qianling could not hear any sounds from the outside world.
She was in the middle of ruins, surrounded by powerful cultivators engaged in fierce battles.
"Where is this?" Yu Qianling looked around in confusion, instinctively dodging the terrifying forces, only to find that the aftershocks couldn't hurt her at all.
She seemed like a phantom, and those people couldn't see her.
Suddenly, a violent force tore through the void, and a fierce wind howled and roared.
Yu Qianling looked up at the sky and saw a large, fiery red bird soaring in mid-air. Its dazzling fiery red tail feathers and perfect physique exuded supreme majesty.
"A phoenix?!" Yu Qianling exclaimed, her eyes wide.
The shimmering fire feathers illuminated half of the gloomy sky, and with a sharp, fierce cry, a violent sonic wave instantly blasted away several black-robed figures in the air.
In just a moment, another group of men in black robes surrounded it and began to attack it relentlessly.
The leader of the black-robed cultivators shouted, "Demon Phoenix, if you leave now, we will spare your life!"
A fierce glint appeared in the eyes of the demon phoenix, and it suddenly roared to the sky.
The flames around him surged like a flood, and his spiritual power surged instantly, as if a volcano had been accumulating for thousands of years and was about to erupt, destroying the world!
In the blink of an eye, the Demon Phoenix was once again entangled in battle with the black-robed men, its fiery red sword feathers blotting out the sky.
Like a cascading galaxy, it utterly annihilated the clamoring black-robed figures, reducing them to dust and obliterating their souls.
Yu Qianling was stunned and hadn't even come to her senses yet.
The demonic phoenix flapped its wings and flew swiftly towards a huge spirit bell not far away, crashing into it violently.
The bell seemed to be very sturdy, remaining intact after being struck several times.
The phoenix's fiery red feathers kept falling off and scattering down with each impact, but she seemed to feel no pain and continued to attack the strange spirit bell.
Suddenly, a sharp golden sword light slashed down, and in conjunction with the demonic phoenix's attack, cracks appeared on the spirit bell in an instant.
Upon seeing this, the black-robed men around were shocked. "Quickly protect the Soul-Suppressing Bell! Don't let it break out!"
As soon as he finished speaking, wave after wave of black-robed men launched a fierce attack on the demon phoenix, their blood-stained feathers constantly falling from the sky.
As Yu Qianling watched the intense battle, for some reason her blood suddenly boiled, and her heart felt like it was being burned.
She clutched her burning chest, looked up at the battle in the sky, and a strange resentment welled up inside her.
Suddenly, a black sword beam pierced through the body of the demon phoenix, and gushing golden-red blood sprayed down, instantly staining the earth below red.
A shrill cry pierced the sky, and a woman in black robes, holding a long black sword, coldly said, "You're courting death, then so be it."
A resolute look appeared in the eyes of the demon phoenix. Controlling its slowly falling body, it unleashed a terrifying power from within and slammed it into the spirit-suppressing bell not far away.
"Stop it!" the woman in black robes shouted angrily upon seeing this.
But it was too late. With a loud crash, the spirit bell shattered, and in an instant, several red blades of light shot out from within, annihilating all the black-robed figures who were trying to attack the demon phoenix.
A white-haired man in red robes, wielding a precious sword, coldly surveyed the crowd around him. His clear, chilling voice echoed through the sky, "You should all be executed."
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