Chapter 62. His Daoist companion lies buried here.
"Where is the entrance?" Hua Deng tugged at Chen Zhou and asked in a low voice.
Shen Zhou said, "I don't remember, let's go in from here."
With that, he flicked his sleeve, and the surrounding scenery rushed past him.
The lush trees, the bustling crowds, and the towering mountains all vanished into a blur before their eyes.
Pei Jianming exclaimed in surprise, but Su Yiqing slapped him across the mouth.
Next, a golden barrier appeared before them, presumably to prevent intruders.
Shen Zhou stretched out his hand, his fingers piercing through the golden light as easily as piercing through a thin sheet of paper.
He gripped the thin paper and easily tore a slit in it. The golden light shattered, and the lantern's eyes were filled with a chaotic jumble of fragments.
When she opened her eyes again, she realized that this was just the beginning.
They still didn't enter the Sword Immortal's Tomb, but instead came to the labyrinth of mechanisms outside the Sword Immortal's Tomb, as described in the book.
In Shen Zhou's words, this was "Yin Zejing's little trick."
The maze consists of countless secret rooms, where the female protagonist was trapped for seven days and seven nights in the original story.
The secret room was dark, damp, and cold, with occasional flickering will-o'-the-wisps. Hua Deng felt a headache coming on as soon as he saw the rock-solid iron door in front of him, and pushed Chen Zhou: "Lead the way quickly."
Shen Zhou clicked his tongue: "You're getting better and better at ordering me around."
Hua Deng said, "Really? Haven't I always been like this?"
Shen Zhou raised his eyebrows slightly.
Hua Deng pretended not to notice the mockery in his eyes and stepped forward: "Let's leave here first, there seem to be lights outside..."
He had only spoken half a sentence when the stone slab beneath his feet suddenly slipped.
Caught off guard, and inexplicably unable to use her magic, she suddenly plummeted, along with Su Yiqing and Pei Jianming.
Shen Zhou immediately reached for the lantern, his spiritual power already wrapped around her wrist, but a sword aura that flew out of nowhere severed his spiritual power, blocking his movement.
Another wisp of sword energy flew closer from behind. Shen Zhou stood still, unsurprised: "Stop playing around, Yin Zejing."
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens more sword energies flew out, each aimed at a fatal spot.
If it were the Shen Zhou of the past, he might have been covered in wounds from these sword energies, but now he doesn't even need to set up a barrier; his physical body alone is enough to withstand all attacks.
The sword energy was like a scrap of paper; it vanished the moment it touched him.
A hearty laugh rang out from behind: "Wow, you've become so amazing!"
Shen Zhou turned around indifferently, and a familiar figure gradually emerged from the void. He still had that carefree attitude and said smugly, "I left a few wisps of my divine consciousness here before I died. It's quite interesting, isn't it?"
Shen Zhou stared at him expressionlessly, his face showing neither joy nor nostalgia.
Yin Zejing seemed oblivious, and flew over with a grin: "How long have I been asleep?"
Shen Zhou pushed open the iron gate and walked towards another secret room: "Nine thousand four hundred and forty-three years."
"You haven't come to see me in ten thousand years? That's inhuman!"
Shen Zhou said, "You are already dead."
Yin Zejing said, "I've been waiting for you for so long. Otherwise, why do you think I left my divine sense behind? It was to beat you up again! But you didn't even show up!"
Shen Zhou repeated his words: "You are already dead."
"..."
Yin Zejing felt that there was no way to continue the conversation with this person.
"You haven't actually been alive all this time, have you?"
“I was reincarnated as a human through the cycle of reincarnation, but I haven’t lived as long as you think.”
"There are twelve swords in total, so this is your twelfth incarnation, right?"
“Thirteen,” Shen Zhou said. “You’ve already seen the last one.”
"So that's how it is... Who is that girl to you?"
Before Shen Zhou could answer, he said with great interest, "Let me guess, could it be your sister in this life? Or your daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter..."
Before he could go completely off track, Shen Zhou ruthlessly interrupted: "They are Daoist partners."
Yin Zejing burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, what are you talking about!"
He laughed for a while, then realized that Shen Zhou wasn't laughing.
His smile vanished abruptly.
“…”
"Are you serious?!"
Shen Zhou said, "Is that not allowed?"
Yin Zejing's eyes widened: "I'll pay for this! You've finally met your match!"
Shen Zhou ignored him and continued forward, while Yin Zejing caught up: "How did you meet her? What did she see in you? It couldn't be your face, could it?"
His brother is indeed good-looking, but unfortunately he knows nothing about love. Anyone who compliments him by saying "I think you're good-looking" will be automatically translated as "I want you to pay." As a result, confessions of love turn into fights, and no female cultivator dares to express her feelings to him anymore.
He joked about it with Chen Xi, who replied, "This is the first time you've praised me like this. I thought you were going to fight me."
Yin Zejing: "..." So that's why you beat me up the first time we met!
One iron gate after another, the secret chambers seemed endless. Even Shen Zhou couldn't help but frown: "Why did you transfer her away?"
Yin Zejing blinked innocently: "I didn't know she was your Daoist partner. If I had known, I would have let her stay. I was just worried about who would tell me about your past..."
“If you can’t control your mouth, I can let you die again,” Shen Zhou said.
Yin Zejing paused for a moment, then chose to flee: "There seems to be some movement on your partner's side, I'll go check it out!"
He was pulled back by Shen Zhou as soon as he flew out.
"Where is that fire elemental root?" Shen Zhou asked.
He was familiar with the structure of the Sword Immortal's Tomb, and Hua Deng knew that the place was safe. Besides, she was wearing that ring, so she wouldn't be in danger.
Yin Zejing: "You mean the guy who's so timid he keeps calling for that person? He's really lucky, he fell into my favorite trap. You want to go find him? I'll take you there..."
Shen Zhou: "No need, I'll go myself."
Yin Zejing paused for a moment, then smiled knowingly: "Don't worry, with me here, that girl will be fine."
Shen Zhou smiled faintly and said, "I know."
*
The streetlights fell into a stone path that seemed to have no end.
The stone path was initially dark, and the streetlights allowed her to grope her way forward. Faintly, she seemed to hear a clear, cold female voice guiding her: "Don't be afraid, just keep going forward, and you'll get out."
The voice was so ethereal that by the time she realized what was happening, she could no longer hear it, leading her to believe it was just her imagination.
She followed the instructions and continued forward, as the stone walls on both sides gradually lit up with light, dotted with ice-blue lamps.
With this light, Hua Deng was finally able to see where he was.
She was on a road that led nowhere, and the surrounding stone walls were not covered with weeds or moss, but instead presented murals.
The mural depicts two faceless figures, one male and one female. Sometimes they are in the mountains, sometimes in the clouds, and sometimes they are dressed in red, as if they are holding a wedding.
For some reason, Hua Deng felt that some scenes seemed a little empty.
For example, in one of the paintings, a woman is standing to the side while a man is practicing swordsmanship. There should be a third person opposite him.
Why did it disappear?
Before she could think it through, the stone path came to an end, and a few wisps of light peeked out from the gap ahead. She went through it.
She arrived at the real tomb of the sword immortal.
The tomb in my imagination should be dark and cold.
However, this place was completely different. When she stepped out of the crevice, she was surprised to find a valley full of blooming spring flowers.
Amidst the vibrant blooming flowers, butterflies fluttered by, surrounding the coffin carved from black jade.
There was no tombstone, only a simple inscription in gold on the coffin lid—
"Chen Xi and her husband Yin Zejing are buried here."
The handwriting was strong, slender, and sharp, penetrating the coffin as if carved by a sword. It was quite different from Shen Zhou's usual handwriting, but Hua Deng still recognized it.
Although she joked with Shen Zhou about coming here to collect magical treasures, she certainly wouldn't actually do it.
So she just stood quietly in place, looking around, and many butterflies flew towards her, as if to greet her.
A slight noise came from in front of me.
Hua Deng glanced over instinctively, and suddenly the coffin lid was lifted, and a hand emerged.
"!"
Then the coffin lid flipped over completely, and a tall figure in blue leaped out.
Hua Deng: "..."
The man waved to her, smiling brightly: "Hello, Shen Zhou's Daoist partner!"
Hua Deng walked over and tentatively asked, "Yin Zejing... Senior?"
"Don't call me senior anymore, it makes me sound old."
"……OK."
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Yin Zejing was not reflected in the coffin. There was indeed no body in the coffin, only a dull, broken sword.
However, what Shen Zhou didn't mention was that there was also a longevity lock next to the broken sword.
Yin Zejing sat on the coffin and chatted with her casually for a few minutes, mostly about Shen Zhou.
Then he asked with a mischievous grin, "Did Shen Zhou ever mention his nickname to you?"
Hua Deng exclaimed in surprise, "He even has a nickname?"
Yin Zejing slapped his thigh and laughed loudly.
"You'd never guess! His nickname is actually... hahahaha... it's actually called 'Good Boy'!"
Hua Deng: "Wow."
This is big news.
In his memory, his mother called him "Guai Guai" not as a nickname, but as his childhood name!
Her eyes lit up immediately: "What else? What else?"
Yin Zejing continued, "And when he was at the Heavenly Mandate Sect, we all had to take exams. He said he wouldn't study, but he would sneak into the Scripture Pavilion in the middle of the night to study..."
"Oh my god... this behavior is so shameful!"
Yin Zejing nodded vigorously, and before Shen Zhou returned, he quickly continued, "And also, that..."
Hua Deng listened with great interest.
"...And he really loves sweets! Not only does he love them, but he's also a real faker. Every time I buy snacks and candy, he pretends to hate them. I had to stake out the place several times to catch him sneaking off to buy them by himself."
After he finished speaking, he noticed that Hua Deng's smile had faded a little, and he paused for a moment.
Has his sense of taste still not recovered?
Hua Deng looked up: "Was he like this before?"
Yin Zejing said, "It's been like this ever since I became a demon."
Hua Deng said, "He's no longer a demonic cultivator."
Yin Zejing smiled and said, "Because whether he is an immortal or a demon, it makes no difference to him."
Hua Deng nodded and said seriously, "He is the most powerful cultivator I have ever seen."
Yin Zejing remained silent for a moment.
She mentioned the way that guy looked at Chen Xi, saying it was exactly the same way he looked at her.
The only difference is that Chen Xi treats him no differently than anyone else, but Shen Zhou reveals a subtle tenderness when he says the words "Daoist partner".
"Gentle" is a word that seems so out of place with him.
"When did you get married?" Yin Zejing asked casually.
"Married...I don't think so," Hua Deng said.
Yin Zejing was shocked: "You're willing to become his Daoist partner? Or is it that marriage is no longer fashionable in your time? Alas, the world is going to the dogs!"
Hua Deng smiled and said, "It's really not popular anymore. Wedding ceremonies like yours are rarely seen now."
Yin Zejing said, "Us? Me and Chen Xi?"
"Yes, it's said that there were eight black birds pulling the carriage, colorful ribbons filling the sky, guests filling the door, and fire phoenixes and auspicious clouds, and dragons dancing with swords. In short, it was very lively."
"...Did Shen Zhou tell you that?"
"Yes, he said you all had a great time that day."
After she finished speaking, she noticed that Yin Zejing's expression was a little off, and asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
Yin Zejing: "I did not see him."
Hua Deng: "What?"
Yin Zejing said slowly, "I didn't see him that day."
*
A secluded room.
Pei Jianming clutched his head in anguish, his face numb.
His mind was filled with the system's shrill cries; he was going crazy.
The lamplight flickered, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, casting a tall, dark shadow on the wall.
He looked down at Pei Jianming, his expression calm and unchanging.
Three hundred times.
He killed that thing three hundred times and roughly understood its way of survival.
It's not difficult to solve, it just takes a little time.
Based on his past behavior, he should have gone directly to Hua Deng and helped her kill the thing.
However, now he's unsure.
Before doing whatever he wanted, the image of that person's smiling face would often flash through his mind, and he would wonder if she would be unhappy.
He had severed everything that bound him before, but this time, he didn't seem to be annoyed by it at all.
Never mind. He tapped the wall twice casually with his knuckles.
Go back and ask Hua Deng what he thinks.
The wall opened with a sound, revealing a dark passage, and Chen Zhou stepped inside.
Pei Jianming was still wailing behind him, but he did not use the puppet technique again.
He wanted Pei Jianming to remember, he wanted the system to remember, he wanted to see the power behind them, and then deal with them all at once.
The wall closed again, and the passage disappeared.
After a long while, Pei Jianming finally raised his head shakily.
"System, I won't become mentally retarded, will I?" he asked, tears streaming down his face.
The system, on its last legs, still mustered its strength upon hearing this and stubbornly replied, "Host, you weren't smart to begin with."
Pei Jianming burst into tears and cried even harder.
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