He asked, "Fellow Daoist He, why do you ask that? I am nobody. My surname is Gong, and my name is Gong Niu."
He Yan's smile widened as he looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze: "Why do you have this name?"
Xi Xingxue puffed out her chest, looking proud: "I was born when my mother was riding an ox to do farm work. Everyone thought I was really awesome, so we named me Gongniu (meaning 'palace ox')."
He Yan rested his chin on his hand and looked at him, nodding seriously: "That's really impressive, and the name sounds nice."
Xi Xingxue gave him a strange look. Although she knew that He Yan was very good at socializing and building relationships, wasn't this a bit too indulgent?
It's bizarre, absolutely bizarre.
"There are only two days left until the end of the secret realm, let's hurry up and stop whining here."
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
Xi Xingxue: It's even stranger now.
Regardless of whether her disguise could truly be concealed, Xi Xingxue followed He Yan, rushing towards the mountaintop.
Along the way, they cleared out a few small snow monsters, and then finally reached the summit.
On the edge of the cliff, a lotus flower with seven ice-colored leaves hangs there, in full bloom, as if ready to be picked by humans.
He Yan had just taken two steps forward when Xi Xingxue's ears twitched, and she stopped him, saying, "There's an ambush."
He Yan obediently stopped, but said softly, "Let's play along."
Xi Xingxue nodded.
So the two continued walking forward until they arrived at the Seven-Leaf Ice Lotus.
He Yan reached out, making a gesture as if to pick the fruit.
Just then, a bolt of lightning struck his hand.
Xi Xingxue quickly took three steps back with He Yanchao in her arms to avoid the lightning bolt, and looked around with sharp eyes, "Stop hiding, come out."
Then several pieces of clothing of different colors appeared around.
He Yan had no interest in figuring out who these people were lying in ambush; he only felt Xi Xingxue's hand tightly wrapped around his waist, and his eyes darkened.
The people who appeared were all dressed in different clothes and stood in two groups. The one who had just ambushed He Yan snorted.
"You want to take this Seven-Leaf Ice Lotus? Why don't you see if others want it too?"
He Yan said, "Anyone can pick them, so why don't you take action if you want them?"
The man, using his clever mind, said, "Of course it's because we're afraid that if a fight breaks out, someone else will benefit from it. That's why you've come."
Xi Xingxue: "...Too smart."
The man glanced at him sideways and gave a soft hum to indicate that he had received a compliment.
He Yan chuckled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes: "So, is everyone here now? Can we begin?"
The other group was clearly getting impatient as well.
"What the hell are you babbling about? We're about to leave the secret realm. If you want to steal something, let's fight! Whoever wins gets the stuff!"
Xi Xingxue looked at the person who said this and silently gave him a thumbs up.
That's good, that's how it looks.
He Yan drew his sword, its tip gleaming with a flowing sword intent, exuding an imposing aura.
"Then let's fight." He smiled.
Before those people could react, He Yan had already flipped over and knocked them to the ground with a single sword strike.
Everyone: We haven't even said "start" yet!
Xi Xingxue cheered from the sidelines: "He Yan, go! Take them all down while they're talking!"
In TV dramas, the protagonists will stop fighting when the villains speak or cast spells.
Xi Xingxue's instruction to her disciples was simply to never say "No, No, No."
The group was clearly from the same sect. They were just about to cast a spell and set up an array when He Yan rushed over and knocked them away.
All that could be heard were cries of pain and complaints. The crowd retorted, "We haven't even finished setting up the formation yet! You're showing no sportsmanship!"
Criticized by everyone, He Yan blinked and subconsciously turned to look at Xi Xingxue.
Xi Xingxue clapped her hands with a smile: "Fantastic! Defeat them all! Seize the Ice Lotus!"
He Yan smiled.
He Yan usually looks quite gentle, and when he's cooking with a spatula, he's even more like a virtuous husband.
I didn't expect him to be so fierce in the fight; wherever his sword flashed, enemies fell one after another.
Everyone present was completely defeated by He Yan.
So everyone could only watch helplessly as He Yan went to pick the Seven-Leaf Ice Lotus.
However, the very second He Yan picked the Seven-Leaf Ice Lotus, suddenly, everyone lying on the ground opened their eyes.
Then, in a tacit and eerie way, they revealed the exact same smile.
"Hehehe..."
"What the hell is that noise?" Xi Xingxue picked at her ear and looked back.
But then everyone behind him vanished in an instant, turning into nothingness and disappearing without a trace.
Xi Xingxue was stunned for a moment. When she looked at He Yan again, she saw an invisible barrier rise out of thin air and envelop him inside.
The ground beneath his feet was slowly cracking and beginning to collapse.
Xi Xingxue then realized what had happened. He clicked his tongue and said, "Damn it, this is actually the illusion of the Ice Lotus."
He took a few steps forward, and at that moment He Yan also noticed something was wrong. The barrier blocked his escape, and the ground beneath his feet was splitting apart.
He looked at Xi Xingxue walking over and warned, "Don't come any closer, it's dangerous!"
However, without thinking, Xi Xingxue leaped forward and arrived beside He Yan in his shocked gaze.
The barrier only allowed entry but not exit, and the two were immediately trapped inside.
The ground beneath his feet trembled, as if the cliff tip was about to collapse at any moment. He Yan's captivating eyes were fixed on Xi Xingxue's profile.
"Master, you... have come to save me."
In a moment of haste or perhaps intentionally, He Yan revealed Xi Xingxue's identity.
Xi Xingxue's heart skipped a beat when she heard those two words, but she ignored him.
He rubbed his forehead, looking at the increasingly numerous cracks in the three-inch-wide ground beneath his feet, and could only say...
"Don't be afraid, we won't die. This is a protective measure of the Seven-Leaf Ice Lotus. Next, we may fall into an illusion."
He Yan nodded, "Okay, I'm not afraid."
Xi Xingxue looked up at He Yan with a determined gaze, but for some reason, the person in front of him became increasingly blurry.
His mind raced, and he quickly pinched himself and shook He Yan's shoulders.
"Wake up, don't be fooled..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xi Xingxue suddenly felt that something was wrong with what she had said.
Illusion... Illusion... Illusion is something intangible, something that unknowingly draws people into a dream. How could I possibly tell them beforehand?
I recalled the scene of those mannequins disappearing just now.
They seem to have... entered the illusion long ago.
Once Xi Xingxue understood, breaking the formation was simple for him.
But for He Yan, it's not so easy.
After Xi Xingxue's prompting, he carefully observed the surrounding space, but he never imagined that it was all fake.
"Let's leave here first," Xi Xingxue said.
"How do we leave?" He Yan's fingers tightened.
For some reason, Xi Xingxue is now by his side, only paying attention to him, and is his one and only master.
He suddenly...didn't want to leave.
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