Chapter 9
Xie Wen was completely focused on her own life and had no idea about Chu Xianyue's inner thoughts. She followed Chu Xianyue step by step, but gradually, she felt that something was wrong.
They've come full circle again. I knew it would be like this. Whenever the plot gets confusing, the main characters always get lost.
Xie Wen was already numb, and besides, as long as Chu Xianyue's arm, which he was holding tightly, didn't disappear, Xie Wen wasn't too afraid.
Yun Yan said, "You're back again? Damn it, you vixen, come out and fight me if you dare!"
Xie Wen: Um, she always felt that this junior brother wasn't very bright, like a dim-witted villain in a TV drama. Do you think he'll come out just because you call him that?
Chu Xianyue said in a deep voice, "There's an obstruction in this fog." As he spoke, he raised his hand and cast a breath-holding spell on the three of them. Compared to Yun Yan, Chu Xianyue's actions seemed much more reliable, Xie Wen thought to himself.
They were most likely under miasma and had been standing still. Now that they had cast a breath-holding spell, the scenery around them changed completely after taking a few more steps.
After walking for a short while, Xie Wen exclaimed in surprise, "This is..."
In the misty forest, tiny points of blue light flickered, like countless eyes staring at you. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be large, glowing green fruits.
It's like a forest of flickering green lamps. No wonder it's called the Forest of Green Lamps.
Xie Wen's heart skipped a beat, "Could this be the sacred fruit they were talking about?" She was about to move closer to take a closer look at what it was when someone pulled her from behind. Chu Xianyue pressed her down next to him and said, "Don't get close to things you're not sure about."
Xie Wen obediently said "Oh," and Yun Yan raised his sword and slashed in mid-air, sending the head-sized green fruit and its branch rolling to the ground.
It rolled a few times, then suddenly exploded, splattering bloody pulp everywhere. Xie Wen felt a little nauseous; she thought it looked like an exploded human brain.
The burst jam was sticky and gooey, resembling real flesh and blood. There was a bloody smell in the air. Xie Wen covered his nose and squinted to take a closer look.
Xie Wen: "Ugh—"
She saw half a throbbing head, and an eyeball staring at her. Seriously? What kind of dungeon is this that's so realistic and disgusting?! And nobody told her it was like this!
Chu Xianyue pulled Xie Wen behind him, seemingly preventing her from seeing, "This is, that old man." On the other side, half of the old man's face skin had fallen off.
The green fruit was probably chopped off by Yun Yan before it could even digest its contents.
Xie Wen felt even more disgusted when he looked at the green fruit.
"Then, Master, what should we do?" Xie Wen asked.
Chu Xianyue said, "Wait where you are. Since it likes to eat people, we will be the living bait."
After saying that, Chu Xianyue actually leaned against a giant tree, half-closing his eyes and meditating. Xie Wen, however, broke out in a cold sweat. Master is indeed Master. His mentality is really good. He can calm down even in this situation.
Xie Wen silently moved towards Chu Xianyue, trying to keep a distance of no more than one meter from him. The closer he was to him, the safer he would be.
Yun Yan, holding a knife, stood on the other side, his eyes narrowed. Xie Wen called out to Yun Yan, "Hey, hey, junior brother, what are you doing? You can't possibly be sleeping in this situation, can you? How big is your heart? When that demoness comes, you won't even know how you died." After saying that, Xie Wen slapped his mouth twice, spitting out words like that, which was not appropriate at a time like this.
Yun Yan scoffed, "Senior sister, are you scared? This is just an illusion. It's all fake."
Xie Wen rolled her eyes at Yun Yan. It was easier said than done. They were experiencing it firsthand, and she knew that her fear and anxiety were real.
Xie Wen didn't know how long she would have to wait standing there. She was initially very excited, and given the situation she was in, especially after what had just happened, it was impossible for her to let her guard down.
But soon she got sleepy. Her eyelids were drooping.
What happened to her?
Yun Yan dozed off for a while, then opened his eyes and saw Xie Wen lying on the ground asleep. He chuckled to himself, thinking, "I was just saying he's carefree, but he's fallen asleep himself in the blink of an eye."
Yun Yan continued to squint, showing no signs of fatigue; on the contrary, he was quite energetic. This was Yun Yan's habit. His senses were more acute when his eyes were closed, and he could immediately detect any slight movement.
About fifteen minutes later, Chu Xianyue opened his eyes. He turned his head and saw no one; Xie Wen was gone.
"What's wrong, Master?" Yun Yan opened his eyes.
Chu Xianyue looked at Yun Yan with a strange expression, "Didn't you notice either that Xie Wen is missing?"
Yun Yan's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked around. Sure enough, there was no one in sight. How could this be? What could possibly have kidnapped someone right under Yun Yan and Chu Xianyue's noses? And why didn't they even notice?
This is not normal. This place is not normal.
Chu Xianyue was too careless; something was wrong with this illusion.
However, he didn't have time to analyze anything else right now; his top priority was Xie Wen! If there was really something wrong with this illusion, then it was unknown whether Xie Wen's life was in danger.
Chu Xianyue said, "Let's split up and find Xie Wen."
Yun Yan also sensed something strange. Even though he usually clashed with Xie Wen, he had never truly considered causing any harm to his senior sister. Suppressing his doubts, Yun Yan said, "Alright," and turned to stride off in another direction to search.
Chu Xianyue had a sudden thought: Xie Wen should still be wearing the cloud-shaped ornament he had given him. It was a magical artifact made by Chu Xianyue, and naturally, he could control it.
Chu Xianyue tried chanting incantations to activate the bell. He searched further and further away, and suddenly, he heard the sound of Yundang's bell coming from deep within a patch of weeds.
Under the shroud of mist, the clump of weeds appeared even more eerie and unpredictable. Chu Xianyue called out, "Xie Wen."
It was so quiet you could hear the gentle patter of running water; there must have been a small pond on the other side of the weeds.
A dozen seconds later, just as Chu Xianyue was about to push aside the weeds, Xie Wen's voice came, "Master."
Chu Xianyue was momentarily lost in thought, feeling an inexplicable strangeness.
Xie Wen was sitting on the edge of the small pond, his feet dangling in the water, splashing water as he moved them.
Chu Xianyue's sense of unease grew stronger, and he called out again, "Xie Wen?"
Xie Wen turned around, still with those slightly upturned almond eyes, a pert nose, and a bright face. "Master, I've found a pool. Come and bathe in it too."
"Take a bath?" Chu Xianyue frowned.
“Yes, a bath.” Xie Wen smiled slightly at Chu Xianyue, then grabbed Chu Xianyue’s arm and pulled him into the pool.
Huge splashes of water erupted; the pool water was icy cold and emanated a chill.
From the moment Chu Xianyue saw this "Xie Wen", he knew that she was not her. If Xie Wen's body hadn't been occupied by "it", Chu Xianyue would have stabbed it to death with a sword long ago!
In the water, Chu Xianyue was restricted in many ways, which was at a disadvantage for him. It seems that it deliberately lured Chu Xianyue here and pulled him into the water.
Xie Wen was still submerged at the bottom of the water, tightly gripping Chu Xianyue's ankle and pulling him down.
Chu Xianyue simply swam downstream. In the dark water, only a dim light shone down from above, inexplicably making everything underwater glow. Impurities floated and sank in the water. Through the swirling dust, Chu Xianyue saw Xie Wen behind him.
At that moment, Chu Xianyue's mind went blank for a split second, and shame and anger rushed straight to his head.
Her pale, white body was completely exposed to Chu Xianyue.
Xie Wenqian smiled and quickly moved to Chu Xianyue's side, her body twisting like a snake, no, more accurately, like a vine climbing upwards.
"Flower Fairy," Chu Xianyue concluded.
She circled around him, seemingly not wanting to "do anything" to Chu Xianyue, yet also seemingly wanting to "do something" to him.
She boldly hooked her arms around Chu Xianyue's neck, wanting to see what tricks she was up to. Then she hooked her legs around Chu Xianyue, clinging to him in an extremely ambiguous posture.
He was furious when he realized what she was about to do, but it was too late. Underwater, she had the advantage, and since she was a flower fairy with a body of vines, once she got entangled in something, she would tighten her grip and it would never be easy to break free.
Chu Xianyue harbored murderous intent; if it weren't for...
Forget it, he simply closed his eyes and forced himself not to perceive anything.
The underwater world was turned upside down by the two people, so murky that not a single ray of light could get in.
After a long while, the water broke open. Chu Xianyue, holding Xie Wen in a dagger, grabbed her by the neck and pressed her onto the grass, saying, "Get out of her body! Otherwise, I'll crush your demon core along with her."
The flower demon knew she was no match for Chu Xianyue, so she pleaded for the best possible outcome: "Immortal Venerable, spare my life! I won't harm her, just spare my life. Otherwise, you'll have to kill this beauty along with me."
Chu Xianyue remained patient, tears streaming down his face, water droplets clinging to his long eyelashes. A chill seemed to emanate from his eyes, and his body radiated coldness. "I'll spare you. Come out here!"
The next moment, Xie Wen's body went limp and he collapsed.
Chu Xianyue subconsciously raised his hand to help.
A rustling sound came from not far away. Yun Yan had heard the loud splashing sound from afar and followed the sound. Before she could see anything clearly, she was blinded by the water splashed by Chu Xianyue.
Chu Xianyue twirled his robe and draped it over Xie Wen.
When Yun Yan finally saw clearly, she saw Chu Xianyue wearing only a single layer of clothing, holding Xie Wen in his arms.
Yun Yan's eyes widened, and she frowned almost imperceptibly.
"What's wrong with Master?" Yun Yan asked.
Chu Xianyue didn't answer, but instead scooped Xie Wen up and channeled some spiritual energy into her.
A moment later, Xie Wen coughed up ascites and slowly woke up. But when she saw that she was covered with Chu Xianyue's coat and that Chu Xianyue was patiently holding her, she was still startled and immediately jumped up, completely unaware of what had happened before.
Chu Xianyue didn't want anyone to know what had happened under the pool. Who knew who he might kill!
So when Xie Wen woke up, the first thing Chu Xianyue asked was, "Do you still remember what happened just now?"
Xie Wen shook his head in confusion, "Master, what happened? I just suddenly felt very sleepy while you were meditating, and then I think I fell asleep? I don't know what happened to me, how did I end up here? My clothes..." are all gone.
Xie Wen stared at Chu Xianyue with an ambiguous look, sensing that something was off about him. Was he feeling guilty? What had he done?
Chu Xianyue breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then he saw Xie Wen's suspicious look and said seriously, "Flower demon, you are possessed by a flower demon."
Although there were many questionable points about what had just happened, Chu Xianyue seemed unwilling to bring them up, and Xie Wen and Yun Yan wisely refrained from asking further. When the three of them stepped out of the pool, the scenery outside had changed once again.
It was completely different from when they came. Yun Yan's description and Chu Xianyue's description were also quite different.
In other words, things in this place are actually moving all the time.
Therefore, the reason why the flower demon was able to kidnap Xie Wen right under Chu Xianyue and Yun Yan's noses was because it wasn't Xie Wen who was moving, but rather the things around Xie Wen that were moving.
The external environment is in motion, and the reference points are also in motion, maintaining a balance, so it appears as if nothing has changed. However, by simply changing the speed of any of these objects, this balance can be broken, and a person can be moved to another location without anyone noticing.
This Green Lamp Forest is quite interesting. However, what I ran into was Chu Xianyue.
Through this pattern, Chu Xianyue found the only tree that would never change: the Green Lamp Tree.
The trees in this entire forest are moved by the flower fairy's magic, while her true form is naturally the foundation of all the trees, occupying the most central and crucial position. Only she is real, and only she cannot move.
Chu Xianyue drew his sword and with one stroke severed the enormous, eerily green lamp on the lamp tree.
Blood gushed out immediately, and a shrill female voice rang out, "Aaaaaah, you filthy god! Didn't you say you wouldn't kill me? Are you even human?!"
Chu Xianyue said with certainty, "I promised you I wouldn't crush your demon core. But I never said I wouldn't kill your true form."
The flower demon was furious. "Aaaaaah, you'll die a horrible death! I should have clung to that pretty girl and refused to get off. If I'm going to die, I'll drag her down with me!!! How awful! Do you even know who your master is? I'll get my master to deal with you! He'll never let you get away with this! And you heartless bastard, I just wanted to..."
Before it could finish speaking, Chu Xianyue severed its grip, and it vanished into the desolate, green-light forest. The next instant, the endless forest before them shattered along with the sound, the illusion extinguished in the dawn light. They returned to their sect, above Little Mirror Lake.
"They're out! They're out! It's Immortal Venerable Qingheng and the others!"
"Congratulations to the three who came in first place in the trial."
Xie Wen wasn't fully awake yet when a continuous stream of cheers and shouts rushed into her ears. A large group of people surrounded them, chattering excitedly. In her dazed state, Xie Wen revealed a smug, triumphant expression. "Actually, it's nothing. It's nothing."
The world of the Green Lantern Forest in the illusion shattered, but what Xie Wen and the others didn't see was that the world reversed, and the other side of the shattered Green Lantern Forest in the illusion was the real Green Lantern Forest.
The flower fairy was a real flower fairy, and it was also true that she was killed by Chu Xianyue.
The last remaining fragment of the flower fairy's soul clung to the green lamp, its light so faint it was almost imperceptible.
"Fool, you've been killed again. I told you to hide your true form well." A hoarse, dry voice echoed in the forest as the speaker picked up the fragments of the flower fairy's true form one by one and put them away.
The lingering soul on the muddy ground stammered out the word "master".
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
