Chapter 61 (Revised) Ghost Island Appears, Two Domains...
"I'd rather you treated me like him."
Li Qingyun found it laughable. Yesterday, he was still resentful that he was just a shadow, but after one night, Chang Yubai hadn't changed. Instead, it was Li Qingyun who had changed his stance first.
Chang Yubai frowned, almost interrupting her, and said, "You are you!"
Although both of them are Li Qingyun, they are still two different people.
Chang Yubai has always been able to distinguish between them clearly.
Li Qingyun herself was too deeply involved, overthinking things, and unable to extricate herself.
Look at Chang Yubai, how firmly he speaks!
Yes, he and his master are completely different.
[But Chang Yubai, why have you truly fallen in love with your master?]
[If only you hadn't figured it out, but you have... which means I really have no chance anymore.]
Li Qingyun felt that this was a terrible piece of news.
"Xiaoyun...?"
Seeing the gloom in Li Qingyun's eyes, Chang Yubai felt bad too. After all, Li Qingyun was someone he had raised and someone he had decided to spend his life with. Chang Yubai wasn't heartless; he had said what he needed to say, so how could he bear to see Li Qingyun crying so bitterly?
He leaned closer, wanting to offer Xiaoyun some comfort, but he had only taken half a step when Li Qingyun harshly rebuked him: "Mind your own business! I don't want your pity!"
"I did not mean that."
“Then don’t come over!” Li Qingyun said.
Chang Yubai still frowned: "No."
Li Qingyun: "..."
Chang Yubai was exceptionally firm on this matter: "You are the most important family member in my life, and I cannot lose you."
"...Hmph!" Li Qingyun turned her head away and stopped looking at him.
But she no longer rejected Chang Yubai's advances.
Just as Chang Yubai tried to take advantage of the situation and wipe away his tears, Li Qingyun slapped his hand away.
Having no other choice, Chang Yubai stuffed a clean handkerchief into Li Qingyun's hand and let him do it himself.
The soft, warm touch was fleeting; he restrained himself from reaching out to stop Chang Yubai.
Li Qingyun felt wronged, but she still insisted, "The temperature of Master's fingertips is still exactly the same as before... Since Master has made his decision, he won't be able to touch me anymore."
"I wonder when my disciple will have another reason to be close to you."
Chang Yubai: "..."
Chang Yubai sighed: "I have always been your master."
"If you are wronged, I will avenge you."
He didn't mean that rejecting Xiaoyun meant she had to cut off all feelings for him; he was just showing Xiaoyun his stance so she would know that she didn't need to waste her energy on a pointless endeavor.
But Li Qingyun's ability to read random replies is still somewhat torturous.
But then she thought again, reading random replies has always been Xiaoyun's unique talent, and it would definitely be better for Xiaoyun to pick up her old skills again than to be obsessed with being a shadow of her past life.
For a moment, Chang Yubai felt a phantom headache.
Li Qingyun only realized after she finished speaking that she had blurted out words of complaint.
Li Qingyun: "..." This must be an accident.
But Chang Yubai's gentle rubbing of his temples was really an eyesore.
Li Qingyun clicked her tongue inwardly, not wanting to face Chang Yubai's intimacy when she was already in a sorry and helpless state.
Chang Yubai seems to have gone mad, staring intently at him as if afraid he'd disappear in the blink of an eye.
But Qingyun isn't a saint. After hearing so much bad news first thing in the morning, he should be given some private space to calm down!
Ideally, something unexpected would happen so he could openly hide from Chang Yubai. If nothing unexpected happens, he could create one, but no matter how he acts in front of Chang Yubai, he'd easily slip up, making it much more difficult.
Li Qingyun's thoughts were in turmoil, but fortunately, his prayers worked, and something actually broke into his and Chang Yubai's awkward silence.
A paper carrier pigeon quietly flew in and landed in front of the two of them.
The carrier pigeon was wrapped with a familiar spiritual energy. Li Qingyun's cultivation was much weaker, and before she could recall whose aura it was, her fingers had already touched it before her brain could process it.
Chang Yubai didn't stop it? It seems to be a message from an acquaintance.
The message transformed into a wisp of silk, glowing with golden light, and entered his brow.
Li Qingyun: "..."
Li Qingyun: "…………"
Li Qingyun suddenly stood up.
Where to?
"Private matter." Li Qingyun's tone was irritated, but he was already tidying up the magic weapon used for teleportation.
"I also,"
"No! I don't want to!" Li Qingyun refused firmly. "Stay away from me!"
Chang Yubai was stunned into place by his suddenly raised tone.
"You're just my master. I can go find whoever I want. Don't interfere in my personal affairs!"
He completely lost his temper after reading the letter.
Chang Yu frowned: "What did Li Hongyi say to you?"
The paper pigeon just now was an urgent message from Li Hongyi. Xiaoyun's attitude suddenly hardened after reading it, which must mean something important has happened.
It's Li Hongyi again...
Chang Yubai always felt that this person was there to break up the bond between him and his disciple. Ever since Li Hongyi squeezed between him and Li Qingyun, there had been a lot of sorrow in their relationship.
His goodwill towards Li Hongyi has been declining, and he can no longer muster a good attitude towards her. When he talks about his doubts related to Li Hongyi, his tone is like an interrogation.
Chang Yubai: "You and I shouldn't get too involved with Li Hongyi."
Li Qingyun was even more amused by his question: "Yes, it's Li Hongyi, but why should I listen to you? I'm going to find him anyway."
“Master, if you are unwilling to get close to me, then I will go find someone who is easy to talk to. Li Hongyi is considerate and knows how to say sweet words. He is a thousand times better than you, Master, you blockhead.”
“You are just my master, you can’t possibly control who I’m intimate with.”
His urgent words were simply an expression of his dissatisfaction with Chang Yubai's meddling. After restricting his movements, Chang Yubai also restricted his friendships. If Chang Yubai had a place for him to explore, that would be fine, but this fool clearly stated that he had no other love in his heart, so why should he be trapped by Chang Yubai?
And Li Hongyi too!
What does it mean to say, "The wasteland is not safe now. You should enjoy your leisure time outside and don't come back"?
What does it mean to say, "I'm afraid there won't be time to attend the wedding banquet, so I can only wish you a long and happy marriage"?
If it weren't for Li Hongyi taking matters into his own hands, things wouldn't have gotten this complicated!
Now, saying something like "it's all over" is considered a form of liberation?
dream!
He couldn't bear to fight Chang Yubai, but how could he not teach Li Hongyi a lesson?
He wanted to see just how chaotic the Great Wilderness had become, to the point that even a powerful martial arts expert like Li Hongyi would say "Don't go back" to him.
He wanted to see what kind of fate could drive even a powerful figure like Li Hongyi into despair, causing him to give up the struggle for survival.
With the Heaven-Abandoning Sword activated, the teleportation scrolls were launched in quick succession, heading straight for his starting coordinates from yesterday.
Chang Yubai, on the other hand, stopped talking after being teased several times. He simply came over when the teleportation scroll was activated, silent and calm, like a personal accessory.
He really is... clueless about romance.
Great wasteland.
As the sun rose, Li Hongyi began to bask in the sun, clinging to the railing.
He leaned against the railing on the second floor, watching the merchants and passersby coming and going on the street below. He would occasionally toss a few pieces of fruit or pastry into his mouth, idly enjoying himself, feeling both carefree and content.
The sandstorm roared from the dome, trying to crash into the vast city, but a spiritual shield firmly blocked them outside the city.
Those who travel through the desolate region all know that the barrier is the protection of the Dust Emperor, safeguarding the eighteen cities of the Great Wilderness from the erosion of wind and sand, ensuring their peace year after year.
As long as the Dust Emperor lives, the barrier will not dissipate. The sandstorms will not touch people in the slightest.
"Hmm, it's quite sweet." Li Hongyi took a bite of the fruit and exclaimed, "If Chang Yubai were here, he would definitely love this."
This sweet, tooth-aching treat is something that people tirelessly indulge in even when it's free.
"Brother Yu Bai, I wonder if this trip will enlighten you."
When Chang Yubai is mentioned, Li Hongyi can't help but shake his head.
The original intention was to help Li Qingyun explore the past that Bai Huang cared about, but she didn't expect to mess it up. It turned out that Bai Huang already had someone he used to love in his heart.
Are you saying that Bai Huang, who has always been devoted to his beloved disciple, actually has an old flame he can't forget?
Who could possibly tell that?!
Li Hongyi's first reaction was that it was all over, and there was absolutely no hope left for Li Qingyun.
After all, he had witnessed how protective Bai Huang was of his own people. For Chang Yu Bai to keep such affection hidden in his heart, it must be a love at the level of a god.
But seeing how eager Chang Yubai was to find a disciple, he felt that Li Qingyun still had a chance.
After all, ordinary people who lose their apprentices wouldn't go crazy and kick down the domain gates everywhere, losing all sense of reason.
"What a tragic fate," Li Hongyi sighed. "I should have known better than to get involved."
The ill-fated relationships he commented on truly contained elements of misfortune.
Chang Yubai's mute nature alone was enough to torment people, but the master and apprentice were similar in temperament, and liked to shut up when they got angry. Li Hongyi couldn't even imagine how long the silence between the two would last.
Even if Li Qingyun truly understands and realizes how to take the initiative... ha.
The person who can make Chang Yubai so concerned is not to be underestimated.
If the White Emperor were to make his own comparison and choice, that would be truly disastrous.
"The living leave a deeper impression than the dead."
Li Hongyi's tone was somewhat sullen, but upon reflection, one could instantly discern the bitterness hidden within it.
But let those two do whatever they want, it's none of his business anyway.
Li Hongyi picked up another fruit and bit down harder than usual.
Thinking about it carefully, it seems like he hasn't been alone for a long time.
In the past, he always traveled to various places in the seven regions, either with a lover by his side or with heroes he met on his way out of a breakup, where they would buy drinks and have a good time together.
Li Hongyi didn't actually like drinking. This body didn't have much of a drinking capacity to begin with. It was only by constantly feeding him alcohol that he developed the ability to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.
But as the fruit went down his throat, the sweet residue lingered on his tongue, making him feel somewhat intoxicated.
Try something sweet.
What a scoundrel.
All they did was clamor for a technique for tracking and tracing clues; they have to make conditions for even something as simple as that.
"Do all the big shots have some special quirks? Do they all like to leave a sweet taste in their mouths?" Li Hongyi was still half asleep, unable to distinguish between virtual and reality even early in the morning.
He really couldn't tell the difference.
The time is almost here.
If I do the math, I should leave a message for those two ancestors from beyond the realm, at least so they don't get trapped here as soon as they return.
He hung a piece of paper in the air, with a few lines of writing on it, and the paper was also wrapped in his spiritual power.
After finishing the letter, he folded the paper, and a paper pigeon appeared. He then drew several layers of teleportation runes on its wings and used his newly learned tracking technique. A lifelike paper pigeon began to flap its wings. As soon as Li Hongyi let go, it would soon fly to Chang Yubai and the other man.
In this way, all the trivial matters have been settled.
He closed his eyes and silently counted down in his mind.
When the numbers reached zero, a deafening roar suddenly erupted, followed by a violent and unbalanced tremor.
All the fruit and pastries on the table fell to the floor, causing a clattering sound.
Li Hongyi stood firmly in place, his eyes still closed.
[The city's protective shield has been breached. Everyone, leave the Great Wilderness immediately!]
It was the Emperor of Dust's voice transmission from afar.
Many people along the way subconsciously looked up, and the originally gloomy sky became ferocious. The sandstorm that should have been isolated was now like a swarm of insects, pressing down on the city all at once.
In an instant, everyone screamed and scattered in all directions.
But whenever the sandstorm found a gap to escape, it would fall into the city and sweep up all the low-level cultivators, forcing them to become one with the storm.
Li Hongyi is not so weak that he can't even withstand a storm.
But apart from him, there was nothing left around him.
Tables and chairs were swept away, railings were broken into four or five pieces, and fruit was eroded into particles by sand and dust, leaving only the lingering aroma in the air.
This is a storm that even the Emperor of Dust cannot withstand.
He stood quietly, but his furrowed brows betrayed his unease.
Finally, it's here.
...
The Great Wilderness was the place he least liked to come to. It was barren and impoverished, and apart from the chance to find some treasures in treacherous secret realms, it had practically no advantages whatsoever.
Besides that, there is another very important reason—his true love, whom he felt most guilty about, is here.
But Li Hongyi still stopped there.
A woman who wasn't particularly beautiful was holding his hand and sweetly calling him Li Lang.
After much wandering, he returned to the beginning of the story, and with the most naive disguise, he met his lover again.
Some said his fate was predetermined from birth, but Hua Niang didn't say such things. In Hua Niang's eyes, there was only the increasingly diligent and hardworking young man, and Hua Niang's love was born only because of Li Hongyi.
The calls from Hua Niang were like giant hammers, gradually driving the nail named "Li Hongyi" into the continent, making him clearly realize that he was indeed Li Hongyi, a real person.
In the beginning, it was Hua Niang who introduced him to the world and helped him understand himself.
Once, this love was as sweet as honey, intoxicating him.
Now it seems that this is indeed the case.
But a catastrophe struck, prematurely ending his tumultuous love affair.
Ghost Island crashed into us.
Two completely unrelated regions have unexpectedly collided.
This collision shattered the boundary between the two realms, and the heavens and earth were stained black by ghosts.
The storm was no longer just a sandstorm; it contained countless twisted ghostly figures. Whenever a living person was swept into the storm, the vengeful spirits would swarm in and tear them to shreds. Then, once they were sure there was no longer any sign of life, the ghostly figures would hide back in the storm, waiting for the next unfortunate prey to appear.
This disaster lasted for three whole years.
For three years, Li Hongyi had been protecting Hua Niangzi by his side. All his original plans fell through. It wasn't until blood stained Hua Niangzi's stubborn body that he realized that Hua Niangzi had never survived any of his countless attempts to refuse to enter the desolate region.
Never.
How could he leave Hua Niang in such a terrible place!
However, when the two domains collided, the boundary between them had already become chaos, preventing outsiders from entering and those inside from leaving.
The city was filled with wails of agony, and the sandstorm intensified, with new cultivators losing their lives every day.
Until the evil spirits gathered, he was ultimately unable to attend to them all, and Hua Niang died in the storm.
That day, he held his lover's corpse in his arms, his body covered in blood. In the raging wind and sand, human remains drifted by like fallen leaves in the breeze.
Li Hongyi knelt on the ground, weeping silently, murmuring something slowly.
"Help……"
"Li Tiansheng, help me... help me save her."
But he didn't get a reply in time.
Only when he realized that everything was about to start all over again did he rush to grab the man's spirit, clinging to him desperately and pleading, "You have a way, don't you! You must be able to think of a way to resolve that crisis, right!"
"Save her, save those people! Isn't this what you did to save their lives?!"
After a long silence, the person finally gave an answer: "Go to Ghost Island."
"Ghost Island is adrift because it lacks a core town. If you become the anchor for Ghost Island and guide it back to its original location, you can prevent the crisis between the two regions."
"However, as the core, you will die, and your body will remain in the Ghost Realm forever, guarding the Ghost City."
“…Okay. I agree.” Li Hongyi released his hand that was clinging to him.
The person opposite him asked, "You always say that a hundred years of life is too short."
Li Hongyi closed his eyes, losing all his strength, and said, "What's the use of a long life if I can't bring my beloved to a close?"
He just wanted her, them, and even them—to all live well.
Just like the madman in front of me did.
Li Hongyi laughed instead: "Don't you understand this kind of thing best?"
He and Li Tiansheng ultimately ended up on the same path.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
