A chilling, bone-deep chill
The second attack launched by the demons against the natural barrier was quickly halted due to internal problems. At this time, a small number of Su clan members who remained in Xianyang happened to come to the Tianyan Sect.
Yan Huanyue felt much more at ease when she learned that the Su family had arrived.
Having just finished training at the martial arts training ground, she immediately returned to the courtyard to help Pei Xuanzhi pack a lot of food and clothing, as well as his pile of books, all of which were put into a treasure pouch. She then went straight to the stone door where Pei Xuanzhi was in seclusion to wait for him.
When Pei Hanzhou arrived with several people, he indeed saw her standing alone outside the stone chamber with a lantern, a little golden raccoon perched on her shoulder, pawing at the pearl by her ear.
Upon noticing his arrival, the little golden raccoon immediately put on airs, abandoning its affectionate demeanor and nonchalantly licking its paws.
Yan Huanyue made a hand seal and greeted the sect leader, saying, "Sect Leader, True Person."
Pei Hanzhou asked, "What are you doing here?"
Yan Huanyue glanced at the people following behind him and said, "I heard that the fellow Daoists from the Su family have arrived."
Pei Hanzhou nodded slightly, "That's exactly why we asked them to help us keep an eye on Xuanlang."
Yan Huanyue's expression changed slightly, but considering that the Su family was present, she was not too surprised. She simply took the little golden fox off her shoulder and hugged it in her arms, bowing to the Su family members and saying, "Thank you all for your trouble."
The leader said, "Fellow Daoist Yan, you are too kind. We are here to assist the disciples of various sects in guarding the rear, and we are also fortunate to take care of Young Master Pei. It is an honor."
Yan Huanyue understood Pei Hanzhou's meaning. While other people's children were rushing to the front lines, his sickly son, unable to fight in the north, would remain in the last line of defense there and wouldn't go anywhere else.
Yan Huanyue didn't say much, hugged the cat and stood aside, thinking that at least she could see Xuanzhi.
To everyone's surprise, Pei Hanzhou simply led the Su family members around the stone chamber and said, "His confinement will end in a month. You can come and pick him up then. He can stay wherever he wants, as long as he doesn't leave the Tianyan Sect."
"yes."
In just a short while, everyone left with Pei Hanzhou.
Under the lonely moon in the dead of winter, the little golden raccoon in her arms gently rubbed against her arm, and Yan Huanyue felt a chill run through her body.
She turned off the light, then, holding the little golden raccoon, sat on a tree in mid-air. Stroking its head, she whispered, "I want you to go to the Su family... If only you had never come to the Heavenly Evolution Sect..."
She could rush to the North with passionate enthusiasm, even if she died there, but leaving him here made her start to worry.
The little golden raccoon squatted on her lap, tilted its head back, rubbed against her hand, and whimpered a couple of times.
Yan Huanyue held it close to her neck to keep it warm, her teeth grinding together in a gnawing sound, "Little cat, little cat... soft and fluffy little cat..."
The little golden raccoon ignored her agonizing cries, nestled against her neck, and purred softly with its eyes half-closed.
Yan Huanyue couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're like a little bellows."
"Meow......"
Yan Huanyue stroked it twice and laughed, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about it anymore, don't be sad."
A surge of spiritual energy slowly approached, and Yan Huanyue, holding the cat, looked towards the distance.
Xue Jingnian was seen carrying a lantern, followed by Tan Guiyi, who had been undergoing trials at Tianyan Sect for a long time, along with the Shendumen group.
And then there's Xu Lan from the Misty Sect, who tried to outmaneuver her in the North.
Tan Guiyi, her face veiled, saw her from afar and greeted her with a familiar smile, "Oh, Fellow Daoist Yan, why are you sitting in a tree? Jingnian has been looking for you everywhere. Just now, from that sound, were you talking to a cat? You're so... innocent it's unbelievable, Jingnian, don't you think?"
Tan Guiyi originally thought that Yan Huanyue was holding a cat demon, but she did not sense any other demonic energy, which meant that Yan Huanyue was holding an ordinary cat.
At this age, still performing talking to small animals, is this really... a childlike heart or just pretentious?
Yan Huanyue immediately tucked the cat-shaped sleeve into her sleeve and made a hand seal, saying, "Gentlemen, it's a rare sight."
Tan Guiyi said with a smile, "It's not uncommon. We've met you many times, but you've always ignored us. If I've done anything wrong, come at me. It doesn't matter what I do, I'm just an outsider. Why take your anger out on Jing Nian? You're fellow disciples, after all."
Yan Huanyue smiled and said, "It's not that I'm taking my anger out on anyone, it's just that I really have nothing to say to you all. If you still care about saving face, then don't look for me in the future, and don't greet me if we meet, so that we don't get tired of each other."
After saying that, he soared into the sky and disappeared.
Xue Jingnian watched her walk away silently.
Tan Guiyi laughed and said, "Why is Fellow Daoist Yan becoming more and more like a child? Talking to a cat and acting like this, why bother? You two shouldn't take it to heart with this young lady."
Xu Lan glanced at her, then at Xue Jingnian. He had originally wanted to say that Yan Huanyue was quite arrogant when she was in the North, and had even asked him in public if he had offended her.
Xu Lan is very good at reading people's attitudes. When he was on good terms with Yu Zhao, Yu Zhao expressed a lot of dissatisfaction with his fiancée Yan Huanyue. Although Xu Lan had never met Yan Huanyue, he would still echo her sentiments.
However, he had heard about Xue Jingnian publicly criticizing Pei Hanzhou in Changqing Palace on behalf of Yan Huanyue.
If I were to speak to Xue Jingnian in the same way I did when I was talking to Yu Zhao, it would likely damage our relationship.
But he simply couldn't understand how Yan Huanyue, a woman who wasn't exactly gentle, could not only break off her engagement with Yu Zhao and marry Pei Xuanzhi, but even get Xue Jingnian to publicly criticize Pei Hanzhou on her behalf after the marriage.
She's just an ordinary female cultivator with no family background. What makes her so special?
He couldn't understand many things that he cared about deeply, but in the end, he just acted indifferent and laughed, "Why should a grown man argue with her?"
Xue Jingnian said, "She wouldn't have been so rude before; she's fallen for that vixen's trick."
"Jing Nian?" Tan Guiyi said in surprise, "How can you say that about Pei Xiaolang? He's just..."
He chuckled softly again, "What? Is it true that you were almost killed by that chronically ill person?"
Xue Jingnian gave her a cold look. "Do you think that was you back then? Could you have defeated that maddened monster?"
Tan Guiyi clasped her hands together and said, "Oh dear, if he went berserk and tried to kill me for no reason, Sect Leader Pei would probably have to compensate me with a lot of things, right? What would he compensate you with? Tell me."
Xue Jingnian frowned and said, "Are you doing this on purpose?"
Tan Guiyi laughed loudly, "Now you know it's embarrassing? Where were you before? Jingnian, I'm only telling you this from the bottom of my heart because we're friends. You're just too naive."
"Young Master Pei hasn't seen much of the world, so he's naturally naive. It's perfectly normal for that girl among you to have some ulterior motives. I suppose she did something to cause this conflict between you. However, this also shows that you're not entirely without a chance."
How could someone surnamed Xue produce such a brainless idiot?
However, if this hothead could cause some trouble in the North, it would at least quell her anger over the loss of manpower in her family outside the Heavenly Evolution Realm.
Tan Guiyi chuckled while secretly rolling her eyes. "Anyway, Young Master Pei isn't going to the North this time, so why are you in such a hurry? I heard that quite a few people from the Xue family are going to the North. You can lead a group of men to charge into battle and grab some credit, which will naturally win the girl's favor."
Xue Jingnian said with a stern face, "Outsiders cannot arrange matters concerning the Xue family."
Dead goods!
Tan Guiyi was so angry that she couldn't help but laugh. She really wanted to slap this arrogant young master from Chang'an. "What arrangements did I make? If we didn't have some connection, who would care about you?"
Xue Jingnian said, "I'm not targeting you, but I'm still a disciple of the sect. It's impossible for me to get people from my family."
Tan Guiyi said, "What's there to explain? I'm not going to argue with you."
Seeing this, Xu Lan mediated, saying, "Alright, what's there to argue about over such a small matter? Let's go, I have some good tea, let's go try it."
That's how they were led away.
Meanwhile, Yan Huanyue was sitting on a deserted mountaintop, holding the little golden raccoon, listening to the night wind that had traveled from afar.
A man and a cat sat idly under the lonely moon all night in the dead of winter.
Three days later, by order of the Sky Patrol Commander and the sect leaders, the demon race has repeatedly invaded the Heavenly Barrier Formation, attempting to slaughter all things in our world again. Except for some disciples who stayed behind at the Tianyan Sect, all disciples from various sects boarded spirit boats to go north to annihilate the demon race and reclaim Tengzhou.
This time, led by Pei Hanzhou and others, all the sects brought countless spiritual artifacts and magical treasures, and together they boarded a spirit boat to cross to the northern lands.
Time was tight, so Yan Huanyue packed a lot of luggage, left a letter for Pei Xuanzhi, and set off with the others.
Hundreds of spirit boats carrying people and cargo crossed from the clouds, instantly plunging the sky into darkness.
The disciples from other sects of the Tianyan Sect were left to take all the people out of the Tianyan territory and stay there temporarily.
When they arrived at the continuous mountain peaks in front of the natural barrier, covered in snow and wind, the demon race's spirit boat had already arrived.
All the spirit boats landed on the tops of the various mountain peaks in separate waves.
Returning to this perilous, snow-covered peak, Yan Huanyue thought of the dry, frigid air on the snow-capped mountain.
She changed into her robes and went out. She passed through a long, dark corridor full of pedestrians, descended three wooden steps, and finally reached the deck of the spirit boat.
The spirit boat was protected by a barrier, preventing it from being affected by wind and snow.
Apart from the raging winds and snow above the spirit boat, there seemed to be no other sound outside, but one could see countless newly built camps on the other side of the wide chasm.
Everyone on the deck looked westward, and Yan Huanyue followed suit. On the highest mountain peak to the west, there was an extremely magnificent and enormous spirit boat, with a woman covered in black veil standing at the bow, looking out.
The woman was as bright and beautiful as a pearl emerging from the water, with an extraordinary and refined temperament.
It's hard to forget someone after just one glance.
"Look, that's the new Demon Lord, the concubine of the former Demon Lord Hengyu!"
"Her? Could she be the master of the Myriad Demons Order?"
"Yes, the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, Zhixu; the High Priest of Wuzhen Land; the Common Ruler of the Demon Race..."
Yan Huanyue frowned slightly, thinking to herself, "It was her..."
When Yun Ruoliang used the Boundary Marker Secret Realm to harm her and Xuan, that woman appeared in the Boundary Marker Secret Realm with the intention of seizing the boundary marker.
Later, the woman kidnapped Xuanzhi, threw him into a cold pond, causing him to lose his memory, while the woman herself disappeared...
Since she is a weaver, given her status, why would she deliberately make things difficult for them?
The problem with Xuanzhi's amnesia is probably with her, but now is not the time to ask that.
Just as Yan Huanyue was about to turn her head, the woman's gaze drifted over to her, passing over the crowd and fixing on her from afar.
Yan Huanyue swallowed her doubts and nodded slightly. The woman seemed to smile.
Just then, a flurry of snowflakes fell from above the spirit boat's barrier, obscuring her vision. By the time she could see clearly, the woman had already disappeared in front of the spirit boat.
Yan Huanyue didn't stay on the deck for long before everyone was summoned to the secret realm that had been brought with them below the cabin for a trial.
After the half-day trial and instruction ended, she ate her meal and went back to her room to wash up. After falling asleep that night, she felt a slight chill somewhere.
After waking up, unable to find a drafty spot, I rummaged through my treasure pouch for a while and found the copper coin tied with a red string, which was emitting a lingering coolness.
She casually tossed it onto the table and went back to sleep.
Unexpectedly, something cool and breezy wrapped around her feet in her dream and lingered right up to her heart.
Like his golden mist.
She leaned back, feeling a little dazed, and indeed found herself against a cool, warm chest.
"Xuanzhi?"
In the darkness, someone embraced her and whispered, "Mmm."
"you......"
A familiar fragrance wafted over, and her lips were attacked by the coolness. After a long while, she was completely overwhelmed.
A cool breeze swept into her clothes, and she hugged his neck tightly. As they drifted off into a daze, she vaguely remembered something and couldn't help but whisper in his ear, her warm breath warm, "Didn't I give you the Cold-Repelling Pearl? Why are you still so cold?"
"It's too cold here. I came in a bit of a hurry. You're so warm."
"Where are you coming from? You, um..."
When Yan Huanyue woke up to the sound of the bell in the early morning, she was still a little confused as she looked at the room in the spirit boat. Didn't she sleep at home with Xuanzhi last night?
However, she soon realized that she had only arrived in the North yesterday, and Xuanzhi was still in the Tianyan Sect, where he had been in confinement for a long time.
It was all just a dream. I really miss him, and now only I know that, so there's nothing to deny.
It was still dark outside. She got up, lit a candle, and got dressed and washed. When she sat in front of the mirror and combed her hair, she noticed that her complexion was unusually rosy.
She washed her face again.
Then he put on his robes and left the room.
As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw a gaunt paper figure standing in front of the opposite door, its empty, lifeless black eyes staring straight at her.
She had seen Lu Shenchu's paper figure before, and it was far more creepy than this one.
Given the presence of demons here, and perhaps the arrival of Xuanjiang people as well, the presence of these paper figures is not surprising.
She ignored it all, turned around and closed the door without changing her expression, then went up to the deck.
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