Chapter 15
Although Xie Wen constantly thought about taking revenge on Chu Xianyue, in reality, if something were to actually happen to him, Xie Wen would be the one most worried. After all, if Chu Xianyue were to suffer, it would bring Xie Wen no benefit whatsoever.
She's his apprentice, and she still needs him as her powerful backer.
Xie Wen stayed by Chu Xianyue's side without leaving for a moment, praying that he would not encounter any danger in the illusion.
Bored out of his mind, Xie Wen turned to examine Chu Xianyue closely. Usually, because of Chu Xianyue's superior aura, Xie Wen seemed to have never really looked at his face closely.
Now's the perfect time to get a good look under the moonlight. I can shove my eyes right in his face and stare until I'm sick of it.
Xie Wen did the same. Under the moonlight, he looked even colder. His thick, dark eyelashes cast a thin layer of moonlight shadow, and his amber eyes were devoid of any light, reflecting a translucent luster in the moonlight. His crimson lips were tightly pressed together, and the shadow cast by his nose fell to the other side. His face was a play of light and shadow, with dappled moonlight filtering through his hair and falling on his face like snowflakes on a southern mountain.
Even though Xie Wen was looking at it so closely, he still felt like he couldn't see it clearly.
At that moment, Xie Wen felt a sudden movement on his neck.
The blood bead trembled uncontrollably, beating like a heart against Xie Wen's neck. It emitted a crimson light, shimmering inch by inch with each beat.
Xie Wen fished out the blood droplets from his collar, and was startled as soon as he touched them—the blood droplets were warm!
For the first time, Xie Wen felt its warmth; it not only had warmth, but it was also shining and beating. Like a vibrant heart, thumping against her skin.
What's going on?
Xie Wen instinctively asked with concern, "Blood Bead, what's wrong? What happened to you? Is Chu Xianyue in danger?"
After a few seconds, Xuezhu's childish voice rang out, carrying a hint of taboo and schadenfreude. What was going on?
Blood Bead: "That guy Chu Xianyue is really something. It's unspeakable, unspeakable..."
Xie Wen: "? What's unspeakable? What happened to Chu Xianyue?"
Xie Wen gripped the blood bead tightly, but then it fell silent. It was still flashing red, still pulsating, still radiating warmth, but it played dead and didn't answer Xie Wen.
Xie Wen, refusing to believe it, held the blood bead and shook it vigorously, but there was still no reaction after a long time. Strange, this blood bead wasn't usually like this with Xie Wen. "Why are you pretending to be dead at a crucial moment?!"
Just as he was worrying, Chu Xianyue's body suddenly relaxed and he staggered. Xie Wen immediately helped Chu Xianyue up.
"Master, you're back!" Xie Wen breathed a sigh of relief.
He did return, but Chu Xianyue looked unwell. It wasn't the kind of unwell caused by injury or physical discomfort, but rather as if he had encountered something strange in the illusion. He seemed as if his soul was still trapped in the illusion.
Xie Wen couldn't imagine what kind of illusion Chu Xianyue had entered or what he had experienced that could elicit such a strong reaction from someone as composed as Chu Xianyue.
Xie Wen supported Chu Xianyue, and the place where they touched was so hot. It was an abnormal heat, and Chu Xianyue's cheeks seemed to be slightly flushed. He was breathing heavily.
"Master, are you alright?" Xie Wen asked tentatively. "What exactly did you see in the illusion?"
It took Chu Xianyue a while for his eyes to clear. It seemed that Xie Wen was the one who had been supporting him. He reacted strongly by brushing Xie Wen's hand away, saying, "Don't touch me."
Xie Wen: "!?"
Never mind, Xie Wen didn't know what had happened to Chu Xianyue that had upset him, so he decided not to hold it against him, considering how pitiful he was.
The flow of time inside the illusion is different from that outside. Xie Wen was only outside for less than a quarter of an hour, while Chu Xianyue was completely unaware of the darkness and the reversal of day and night.
It took him a few minutes to adjust, and he resumed his usual meticulous and aloof demeanor, as if nothing had happened in the illusion.
Since it was the most "unspeakable" thing in his heart, Xie Wen didn't press him further and didn't want to provoke him any further.
Getting back to the main topic, Xie Wen asked Chu Xianyue, "Did you get any clues in the illusion? What did you discover? I was guarding your real body the whole time, and nothing happened." Xie Wen subtly showed off his abilities.
Chu Xianyue turned his head, squinted at Xie Wen with narrowed eyes, his expression unreadable.
He said nothing, then leaped up to the top of Little Mirror Lake, where the entire lake nestled among the mountains was laid out before him. Following the location he remembered from the illusion, he formed hand seals and silently chanted a spell. In an instant, Xie Wen stood below Little Mirror Lake, where golden halos lit up the horizon. From her perspective, half the sky was enveloped in golden light. In the blink of an eye, the golden light flowed like water towards the center, spreading to the center of the halos and forming a huge array!
At the center of the formation, a faint black dot appeared. Xie Wen squinted and saw a magical artifact; this formation was formed by this artifact. The artifact was called the Ten Directions Cauldron, a kind of evil artifact that had long been sealed away.
This magical artifact, once placed anywhere, will continuously absorb the spiritual energy from the outside world until it has completely drained it. It is this that makes the Little Mirror Lake illusion so dangerous.
It altered the magnetic field of the entire Xiaojing Lake, unleashing its malevolent side.
This was the first time Xie Wen had ever seen such a spectacle. Golden light illuminated most of the sky, and the entire formation hovered above Little Mirror Lake, completely enveloping it. Keep in mind how vast Little Mirror Lake is! It covers several mountain peaks! If this were during the day, it would be impossible to keep a low profile; it would definitely attract considerable attention.
Fortunately, it's nighttime and the place is remote.
Chu Xianyue hovered in mid-air, placing the massive array beneath his feet. He lowered his eyes, raised his hand, and spiritual light flowed between his fingers as he gathered power, preparing to destroy the magical artifact.
Suddenly, a strange movement came from somewhere. A beam of light shot up to the very center of the formation, and the light circle rotated in cycles. The formation was activated!
Once this formation is officially activated, it cannot be easily destroyed, as it will bring unpredictable consequences to Little Mirror Lake and even the entire sect.
From the direction from which the light emanated, a dark shadow flashed by.
Since they couldn't stop the formation from taking effect, the two had no choice but to capture the person first.
This person was probably planning to activate the formation only after it was fully operational, but he didn't expect the master and apprentice to discover his scheme so quickly. Therefore, even at the risk of being exposed, he had to do his best to activate the formation ahead of schedule, just as Chu Xianyue was about to destroy it.
Xie Wen and Chu Xianyue leaped forward, attacking a dark figure from both above and below.
The dark figure disappeared quickly, almost instantly vanishing into the warm night.
Xie Wen's palms were sweating as he looked at Chu Xianyue. In any case, Chu Xianyue was reliable at times, and Xie Wen would subconsciously look at him when he was at a loss.
For some reason, Xie Wen always felt that he would find a way. Maybe that's just the protagonist's halo.
Chu Xianyue remained calm and composed. With a light tap of his feet, he flew to the top, quickly formed hand seals, and set up an array. With a wave of his hand, the array shook upwards, solidly covering the entire Little Mirror Lake.
As long as the formation remains, no one can leave this place.
However, the frustrating thing is that this Little Mirror Lake is so big, and Xie Wen only has Chu Xianyue and herself on her side. If the person in the shadows is determined to hide, how long will it take for them to find him?
Moreover, it's nighttime now; the other side is in the dark, while they are in the light.
If you're not careful, you could be caught off guard and suffer a dramatic comeback.
Xie Wen became alert and was about to remind Chu Xianyue to be careful when he heard a rustling sound from the dense forest not far away.
Chu Xianyue leaped forward and positioned himself in front of Xie Wen, raising his sword and slashing it. The wind from the sword sliced through the forest in half, revealing the "thing" hidden behind it.
Before Xie Wen could see clearly, a familiar voice rang out, and the person in front of him raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, "Immortal Venerable, spare my life! I didn't see anything."
The man slowly turned around, and in the moonlight, his face appeared even more somber.
Xie Wen fixed his gaze on Pei Xuan!
Pei Xuan shrank back, trembling as he carried a lantern used by disciples for patrolling.
Xie Wen looked wary and asked Pei Xuan with a suspicious expression, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Pei Xuan said, "I made a mistake and was punished by being sent here to patrol."
Xie Wen: "What mistake did you make? Are you here on patrol?"
Pei Xuan: "To be precise, it wasn't me who made a mistake. It was Miss Xie who was punished by being sent here to patrol yesterday because she skipped her studies, so I came to keep her company."
Xie Wen looked up and indeed saw a lonely light on the river, flickering hazily from the distant river mist and forest. To Xie Wen's eyes, it was just a faint light like a firefly beneath him.
Xie Yichun was walking on the river. She had just been patrolling the other side of Xiaojing Lake, and she and Pei Xuan had split up. Not long ago, she had also seen a scene on the sky. She had a feeling that something big was going to happen, and she was worried about Pei Xuan's safety, so she used a sound transmission talisman to send a message to Pei Xuan.
The talisman spontaneously combusted in Xie Yichun's hand, and she tossed it towards Pei Xuan's location. Xie Wen caught it firmly between two fingers. Xie Wen said, "Sister, it's me."
Xie Yichun's body trembled, and she lifted her skirt and ran towards Xie Wen and the others.
"Awen, what are you doing here?" Xie Yichun saw Xie Wen and then Chu Xianyue beside Xie Wen. She bowed to him and finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Pei Xuan standing there unharmed.
Xie Wen said, "My master and I are here to take care of some things."
Xie Yichun had roughly guessed something. Besides Chu Xianyue, who else could set up such a powerful formation in just a few seconds?
The dark figure had disappeared somewhere, but it was very likely still inside. Xie Wen grabbed Xie Yichun and looked her over from left to right until she was sure she was alright before she felt relieved. "Sister, it's not safe here. You should go back quickly."
Xie Wen turned around and glared at Pei Xuan, "You'd better take my sister back right now."
Pei Xuan glanced timidly at Chu Xianyue beside Xie Wen. Everyone was wary of Chu Xianyue and naturally had to watch his expression. However, Chu Xianyue just stood aside coldly and distantly throughout, like an outsider.
Xie Wen was the only one asking questions throughout the entire process. Chu Xianyue didn't say a word and followed Xie Wen's lead completely.
Pei Xuan nodded blankly, then Xie Wen called out to him again, "Don't tell anyone what you saw today."
Pei Xuan nodded again, and Xie Yichun understood as well, so she didn't ask any more questions.
Xie Wen clicked his tongue. Seeing Pei Xuan's timid appearance, he was really worried about whether he could protect Xie Yichun. Xie Wen sighed and said to Pei Xuan in an annoyed tone, "Alright, alright, go away, don't delay our business."
Turning to Xie Yichun, he said, "Sister, you should go back now too. Be careful on the road. If anything happens, be sure to contact me!"
Xie Yichun knew that staying any longer would only be a burden to Xie Wen, and seeing Chu Xianyue's state, she tacitly allowed them to leave early. She then wisely went back with Pei Xuan.
Chu Xianyue raised his hand and destroyed the array he had set up earlier, so that Xie Yichun and Pei Xuan could leave Xiaojing Lake smoothly.
"What should we do next?" Xie Wen looked at the Ten Directions Cauldron suspended in mid-air and the rotating array. It was in operation and taking effect. The originally calm waters of Little Mirror Lake began to stir and surge restlessly.
She knew that this magical artifact could very well turn this small Mirror Lake upside down and cause it no peace.
Chu Xianyue stood beneath the formation, his face reflecting golden light. His expression remained calm and composed. "The spiritual energy of Little Mirror Lake is gradually dissipating."
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