53. The Sea of Hatred (Part 1)
◎"Senior Brother Lou" and "Junior Sister Ran"◎
By the faint moonlight that filtered through, she saw a black cloud floating and swelling in the center of the empty corridor ahead.
It could only be vaguely discerned that it seemed to be the vengeful spirit of a female cultivator, with an indistinct face, but exuding a powerful spiritual pressure that made one's heart tremble.
Those calls pierced her eardrums, and she froze on the spot, a chill running through her entire body.
Louyun Cliff.
The vengeful spirit was calling out to Lou Yunya!
She stared at the floating figure, trying to find some clues in its blurred face. The woman was slender and graceful; even as a blur, one could still discern her former beauty and charm. A lingering sorrow and obsession bound her firmly within the tower.
Why is this the case? What is her relationship with Lou Yunya? Are they master and disciple? Old acquaintances? Or... a deeper bond? Is this why Lou Tinglan has repeatedly risked her life?
Countless questions flooded her mind instantly, leaving her in a state of utter confusion. The slight annoyance she had felt earlier due to Lou Tinglan's misunderstanding was now completely replaced by shock and bewilderment.
Just as she was terrified, the vengeful spirit seemed to sense the presence of a living person. Its mournful sighs abruptly ceased, and its gaze seemed to pierce through the darkness, looking directly in Ran Qinghe's direction.
"who?"
The oppressive aura spread like a tidal wave, carrying overwhelming resentment and deathly silence. But its target was not Ran Qinghe, but the two vengeful spirits behind her, Stone and Little Flower.
Ran Qinghe's breath hitched as the whip slipped silently into her palm, spiritual energy circulating within it. She dared not be careless in the slightest; even if the human and the vengeful spirit were of equal strength, it was by no means something she could easily contend with.
A wave of resentment swept over her, but the vengeful spirit itself lunged at the stone and the little flower, enveloping them in thick black mist as if to devour them.
At that moment, Ran Qinghe suddenly understood the vengeful spirit's intention. She endured the attack of the resentful energy and immediately whipped away the black energy surrounding Xiaohua and Shitou.
"You guys go first!"
She clutched her forearm in pain; the forearm had been struck squarely by the vengeful spirit, and there was even a sound of bones cracking.
Stone stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. Little Flower made a tough decision, entangled herself around Stone, and the two of them, without daring to delay for a moment, quickly escaped through the barrier.
Without the constraints of the stone and the little flower, she found herself handling the situation with a bit more ease. But when it came to dealing with cultivators, it seemed to have lost interest. The frequency of its attacks gradually decreased until finally, it began to keep its distance, scrutinizing her with empty "eyes."
Its body churned with black energy, as if it were trying to identify something. After a while, it suddenly drifted closer, its voice ethereal yet eerie: "You... have his aura on you..."
Ran Qinghe's heart skipped a beat. His presence was there? Was he referring to Lou Yunya, or Lou Tinglan?
Before she could think further, the black aura surrounding the vengeful spirit suddenly surged unpredictably, and its originally mournful voice became sharp and piercing, filled with endless resentment and questioning: "Did he send you here? Where is he? Tell me!"
A piercing scream echoed through the empty tower, whipping up gusts of eerie wind that made her clothes flutter wildly, almost causing her to lose her footing. A violent surge of resentment pressed down on her relentlessly.
"Who is he?" "And who are you?" she asked in quick succession, but received no answers.
The vengeful spirit seemed to have gone completely mad because of the faint trace of "him" on her body. It was no longer just a test, but a determination to destroy everything in front of it.
Ran Qinghe gritted her teeth and barely managed to defend herself with her whip. The spiritual power emanating from the whip tip collided violently with the incoming resentment!
"boom--"
The spiritual power and the resentment collided and exploded, causing her to stagger back several steps. With her early Nascent Soul cultivation, she was simply no match for the powerful resentful spirit that had been nourished by resentment.
Moreover, she knew nothing about the background or origin of this vengeful spirit, let alone how to address the root of the grudge and convert it. She could only rely on her spiritual power to barely resist it.
She had just taken a hit to protect the stone and the little flower, and her left arm was probably also injured, making the flow of spiritual energy even more sluggish.
Her face was deathly pale, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead. This couldn't go on. The spiritual energy in her dantian was being rapidly depleted, but the vengeful spirit's attacks showed no sign of abating. She couldn't hold on for much longer.
Therefore, out of desperation, she could only choose the worst possible option: to use her dantian to absorb all the resentment from the attacking spirits.
Although this method is risky, she has never failed before.
Just then, a ghostly hand formed from resentment was about to grab her throat. At the critical moment, she didn't even try to dodge, but instead prepared to channel the resentment into her dantian.
"Buzz—"
A clear and melodious sword cry suddenly rang out.
Immediately afterwards, the sword light tore through the darkness, striking the ghostly hand with unparalleled precision. In that instant, the ghostly hand disintegrated into a wisp of black smoke.
A familiar figure stood firmly in front of Ran Qinghe.
It is Lou Tinglan.
He stood with his back to her, his posture upright, his hand holding the sword steady and powerful, but the taut lines of his shoulders betrayed his turbulent emotions.
"Step back."
His voice was deep and resolute, but it wasn't directed at the vengeful spirit; it was directed at her.
Ran Qinghe stared blankly at his retreating figure, her heart filled with mixed emotions. How did he end up here? Was it a coincidence, or... did he follow her?
The vengeful spirit was momentarily delayed by the light of the Tranquil Heart Sword, and instead of attacking immediately, it seemed to be attracted by something, emitting painful whimpers.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lou Tinglan turned around and grabbed her waist, quickly passing through the Tower Prison's restrictions, while the Tranquil Heart Sword returned as summoned.
As soon as the two stepped onto solid ground, Ran Qinghe tried to break through the barrier again. Lou Tinglan subconsciously grabbed her left arm, his eyes filled with a deep anger.
"What are you doing?" He gripped her wrist tightly, afraid that she might impulsively throw her life away if he wasn't careful.
"Hiss—", coincidentally, Ran Qinghe's arm had just been injured by the vengeful spirit, and Lou Tinglan's force made her injury even worse.
Seeing her reaction, his previously firm attitude suddenly softened, and he even seemed flustered and helpless.
"What's wrong with your arm?" He loosened his grip, carefully holding her fingers and lifting her arm.
The light was dim just now, and he was in a hurry to get her away, so he didn't notice it at first.
Ran Qinghe tried to pull her hand away, but he held it more gently and firmly.
"Don't move," he said in a deep voice, a gentle spiritual energy gathering at his fingertips as he carefully examined her injuries. The spiritual energy brought a slight stinging sensation, but more than anything, it brought an indescribable, cherished comfort.
"My bones are cracked, and my meridians are also damaged." He frowned, his tone carrying a hint of self-reproach. "It's my fault; I used too much force just now."
“It’s none of your business,” Ran Qinghe turned her head away, refusing to look at his face so close to hers. His warm breath brushed against her forehead, causing a slight tickle. “It was a ‘gift’ from the guy downstairs…”
She tried to mask her racing heart with a lighthearted tone, but his focused gaze only made her more uneasy.
Lou Tinglan didn't reply, but silently circulated her spiritual energy. The clear and gentle power slowly flowed into her wounds, nourishing the damaged meridians and relieving the excruciating pain.
The process was slow and agonizing, with silence spreading between the two, the only sound being their intertwined breaths.
"You're following me?" After a long while, Ran Qinghe finally couldn't help but ask, breaking the unsettling silence. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes filled with turbulent emotions.
Lou Tinglan did not deny it, and the spiritual energy at her fingertips did not stop. Instead, she changed the subject and asked, "Why did you force your way through the barrier just now?"
Ran Qinghe's train of thought was also led astray by him, and she replied, "I just realized that the vengeful spirit wanted to devour other vengeful spirits, and I was afraid it would follow us to the Golden Core Realm, so I..."
When Lou Tinglan heard the word "devour," his spiritual power visibly paused for a moment, but then quickly returned to normal, saying, "It can't come up; each level of the tower has its own restrictions."
To prevent higher-level vengeful spirits from oppressing lower-level vengeful spirits, and higher-level cultivators from oppressing lower-level cultivators, the Tower Prison is divided into nine levels according to cultivation realm.
However, when the tower was initially built, it was not considered that lower-level beings would voluntarily enter the higher-level tower prison, which allowed Ran Qinghe to exploit the loophole.
Then, Lou Tinglan added, "At first, I didn't notice the restriction loosening, and I thought you had been staying in the Golden Core Realm Tower Prison."
"So, without the key, how did you break through the Tower Prison's restrictions and reach the Nascent Soul Realm?"
“I naturally have my own way,” she said with a hint of defiance. He had kept many things from her, so why should she reveal everything? “No need for Senior Brother Lou to worry.”
Upon hearing that distant "Senior Brother Lou," Lou Tinglan's eyes darkened, and he tightened his grip on her arm slightly, but immediately restrained himself, afraid of hurting her.
"Ran Qinghe," he called her name, his tone no longer cold and aloof, but tinged with a hint of helplessness, "Do you have to talk to me like this?"
He couldn't understand why she would reject him so easily after only one training trip to Qingxiao with the Second Elder.
"Is it because of Hua Jin?" Although he didn't care much, she and Hua Jin were indeed too intimate. Was it because they had feelings for each other that she wanted to stay away from him?
Ran Qinghe instinctively wanted to refute, asking what this had to do with Hua Jin, but she held back the words.
"Instead of worrying about trivial matters, Senior Brother Lou should take care of himself first."
She noticed that the damaged meridians in her forearm were gradually healing, so she distanced herself from him and said:
"The vengeful spirit below might just be using your father's name to lure you closer. It has lost its self-awareness, and it's almost impossible for you to get any information about your father from it..."
Lou Tinglan immediately denied it, saying, "It didn't. It's just that it devoured too many vengeful spirits, and the resentment was mixed together, which is why it kept losing control."
He stared into her eyes, his tone firm: "I will find a way to restore her to her senses."
Ran Qinghe seemed to have understood something. The only way to restore a vengeful spirit to its senses was to reduce its resentment. And since she was a born spirit, she happened to be able to absorb resentment. Lou Tinglan must know this. So why not ask her?
She softened her tone and said, "Lou Tinglan, I can..." absorb the resentment of that vengeful spirit.
But Lou Tinglan interrupted him, saying, "This matter has nothing to do with you."
"Junior Sister Ran."
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