Yideng opened the lid; the Netherworld Fire had just been extinguished, but the aura of the Netherworld Fire still lingered in the cauldron.
A mirror, slightly larger than the palm of a hand, lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace, its smooth surface reflecting a cold, eerie light.
Looking in the mirror, Yi Deng's usually aloof and handsome face showed a slight change in emotion. He bit his finger, squeezing out blood, and the crimson droplets fell onto the mirror.
The blood droplets splashed on the mirror and were absorbed by it. Yideng reached out his hand towards the mirror, and the mirror floated into his palm.
The original large mirror, which was more than half a person's height, has been refined to be only slightly larger than a palm. Its shape has also changed from rectangular to round. The handle at the bottom of the mirror and the back of the mirror are engraved with flame patterns, which are exquisite.
Yideng gripped the handle, raised the mirror, and his face was clearly reflected on the smooth surface.
He raised his other hand and gently brushed it across the mirror, as if a pebble had been thrown into a lake. After a ripple, the mirror reflected the scene of Xia Linyin's room.
Xia Linyin lay motionless on the ground, her figure as transparent as a wisp of smoke that could dissipate with a gust of wind.
Yideng reached into the mirror, gently brushed aside the messy hair covering Xia Linyin's face, and put a black pill into her mouth.
As the pill entered her mouth, Xia Linyin's figure gradually became no longer transparent.
After doing all this, Yideng hung the mirror on his waist and left the alchemy room.
...
The scorching sun baked the earth, and the yellow sand was as hot as fire. Even through the thick soles of your shoes, you could feel the terrifying heat.
Walking on this boundless desert is like being in a steamer; the heat is so intense it feels like your skin is peeling off, and even the wind carries heat.
Between heaven and earth, on the endless yellow sand, a monk wearing a kasaya walks slowly, the wind lifting his red kasaya, drawing a bright red arc in the air.
There was no profuse sweating, no soaked clothes; his cool and handsome face was clean and refreshing. The scorching sun left no trace on his face, and his porcelain-like skin remained snow-white.
Ichidō looked at the mirror in his hand and asked, "Did you find it?"
The dressing mirror was transformed into a small mirror, but nothing changed inside; Xia Linyin still saw the original large mirror.
She sat in front of the mirror, leaning back in her chair with her legs crossed, wearing a pale yellow dress, but the hem of the dress was tattered by the Netherworld Fire, revealing two fair and slender calves.
One bare foot was on the carpet, while the other bare foot, which was off the ground, tapped lightly. Her long hair was also somewhat disheveled.
The entire ghost exuded an air of laziness.
Xia Linyin blew on her fingernails and said, "What's the rush? Aren't we looking for it?"
Yideng's slender, sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly again. He noticed that he had been frowning quite often lately. "Are you very dissatisfied?"
Xia Linyin immediately laughed and said, "How dare I, how dare I? I was originally just an ordinary ghost mirror. Now, after you have refined it, I can see through illusions, reveal the true nature of demons and monsters, and I am not afraid of the Nine Netherworld Fire that makes all ghosts tremble with fear. With such great kindness and virtue, how could I dare to be dissatisfied with you, Master?"
Yideng seemed not to have grasped the deeper meaning in Xia Linyin's words, nodded, and said, "It's good that you know."
Xia Linyin gritted her teeth, "Yeah, I'm so powerful now—"
Yideng interrupted Xia Linyin, "The core of the formation."
Xia Linyin pursed her lips and pointed in a direction, "There."
After giving Xia Linyin a meaningful look, Yideng walked towards the place she pointed to.
Just as their feet reached the top of the sand dune, a sudden gust of wind arose, and the sand and dust blinded them.
Not far away, it seemed as if ten thousand horses were galloping by, stirring up billowing yellow sand. Several spiraling hurricanes swept the yellow sand into the sky, like tornadoes passing by.
Faced with that apocalyptic scene, Yideng remained unmoved, instead looking at Xia Linyin in the mirror, "If there is a next time, she will be confined for a week."
Xia Linyin protested, "Don't I have any human rights? Oh no, ghost rights!"
"I am your master." Yideng looked at Xia Linyin, his narrow eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, like the cold, calm surface of an ancient well.
After exchanging glances for a few seconds, Xia Linyin said, "You are the owner of the mirror, not my owner."
Yideng didn't say anything more. He left the small sand dune and walked towards another part of the desert.
The yellow sand blew on him, but was kept away by the invisible barrier around him.
Walking on the howling desert, he remained peerless in his elegance, a world unto himself, unaffected by anything in this world.
With a single step, Yideng entered the eye of the formation. The endless desert landscape, where yellow sand blotted out the sky, disappeared, replaced by a damp cave with the gurgling sound of spring water.
The narrow passage twisted and turned, with water droplets gathering into streams on the stone walls on both sides, and Yideng walked into the cave.
A soft, sobbing sound came from inside the cave.
A little girl in a black dress and black ankle boots sat against the stone wall, burying her head in her knees and sobbing softly, her small body curled up in a ball.
Hearing the sound, she quickly raised her tear-streaked face, her large, dark eyes wide with fear. But when she saw who was standing in front of her, the fear in her eyes turned into joy. "Big brother, did you come to save me?"
The little girl stood up, clutching Yideng's robe tightly with one hand and wiping away tears with the other. "Big brother, my mother has been captured by a monster. Please help me save her, okay?"
The little girl, barely reaching his waist, looked up, her tiny hands clutching his robe tightly. Tears streamed from her large, dark eyes, her gaze utterly endearing.
Her cherry-like lips were pursed in a pitiful manner, and her expression was so endearing that no one could bear to refuse her request.
However, Yideng simply pointed the mirror at her and asked indifferently, "What do you see?"
The little girl looked in the mirror, but instead of a cute face, she saw a rough bear face reflected in it.
A flicker of panic crossed the little girl's eyes, and she suddenly screamed, "Ah! There's a monster!"
"Waaaaah, you...you're a monster too!" the little girl cried, turning and running into the cave.
Yideng hurled a Buddhist prayer bead bracelet at the little girl, and the bracelet magnified in mid-air before landing directly on her body.
The bracelet shimmered with golden light, tightly binding the little girl's body. The girl pleaded in agony, "Please, don't kill me! Don't kill me! My flesh tastes awful..."
Large tears rolled down the girl's cheeks as she wailed, but Yideng remained unmoved.
Like the snow on the summit of a snow-capped mountain that never melts, its coldness and indifference chill one to the bone.
His voice echoed in the cave, each word carrying a solemn and majestic power, like a softly recited Sanskrit: "Demon, surrender now!"
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