The empty city was destroyed (10)
Ye Yingying didn't remember when she fell asleep; she only remembered lying in bed with Yun Yanqiu, sharing the same blanket. Yun Yanqiu held her hand very tightly, as if only then could he feel at ease.
When she woke up again, Yun Yanqiu was lying on his side, staring at her without moving.
Ye Yingying was stunned for a moment, then sat up and shook her dazed head: "What time is it now?"
After asking, she regretted it a little. The time sequence in this illusion was chaotic, so how could there be any normal time? But seeing the light coming in from outside, it seemed that everything was still operating in a regular way.
"At least it's dawn now." Yun Yanqiu also sat up, his gaze still fixed on Ye Yingying.
The two got out of bed, straightened their slightly wrinkled clothes, tidied themselves up a bit, and went out. When they got downstairs, they found only Wu Yue and Zhao Yuxiao sitting in the lobby.
Seeing the two of them come down, Zhao Yuxiao smiled and invited them to sit down. The four of them sat at the four sides of the square table, looking at each other in silence.
“Let’s organize the clues first.” Wu Yue finally spoke up. “This place is not as ordinary as it seems. The weather and time are all messed up, and the people are very strange.”
"That thick fog is less of a curfew and more of a deterrent against outsiders. And that Zhan Yan, he's probably no saint either."
"How can you be so sure?" Ye Yingying asked, recalling the man's unusual behavior yesterday. "What were you thinking about on the street yesterday?"
Wu Yue propped her arm on the table, resting her chin on it, her expression serious: "The way those people bow is a unique custom of our Wu clan."
"They claim that Zhan Yan has brought them favors, and it is clear that in this illusion, the Imperial Preceptor holds a higher position in their hearts than the King."
Wu Yue explained that it was clearly not a normal sign that a country's national advisor had more prestige than the king.
“That gesture of bowing is usually only seen when the witch clan performs a sacrificial ceremony to the heavens…” she said, her gaze darkening. “I suspect that he transformed himself into a god in this illusion.”
God... a solemn and ancient word. Gods are beings from the upper realm, the agents of the Heavenly Way. In distant legends, gods can summon wind and rain, and transform mountains, rivers, and all things.
"Didn't he ascend to heaven?" Ye Yingying asked, puzzled. Ascending to the upper realm would grant him the qualifications to become a god, so why go through this unnecessary trouble?
"What if he fails?" Wu Yue countered. "What if he fails to ascend and, unwilling to accept it, transforms this place into an illusion to fulfill his long-cherished wish?"
"this……"
Ye Yingying was speechless for a moment. What Wu Yue said was not entirely impossible. If Zhan Yan really created this illusion for this purpose, then the strange behavior of those people on the street could be explained.
"Wait a minute," Zhao Yuxiao suddenly asked, "I remember that for an array to function, someone needs to continuously supply it with spiritual energy. But this place is sparsely populated. Who can provide it with a constant supply of spiritual energy?"
These words suddenly reminded Ye Yingying, and she immediately widened her eyes, looking at Wu Yue in surprise: "Do you mean that Zhan Yan is not dead yet?"
Wu Yue didn't speak, her expression somewhat conflicted, but she still voiced her speculation: "To continue the formation, someone must be supplying spiritual energy. I've also considered that perhaps the cultivators who strayed into this place before might be the source of spiritual energy."
“But the people and objects in this illusion array are too realistic. Jincheng is known for its dangers, and very few cultivators would come here. With just this little bit of spiritual power, it is definitely not enough to maintain the operation of the array.”
Therefore, even though it sounds like a fantasy, the most likely guess is that "Zhan Yan is still alive and has been continuously providing spiritual power to this formation".
Ye Yingying was still somewhat incredulous. She pondered, "A cultivator's lifespan is related to their cultivation level. If they fail to break through their cultivation level, their cultivation will stagnate, and their lifespan will not increase further."
"Ascension is a kind of breakthrough. If he had failed to ascend, would he really be alive now?"
"But if he hadn't lived until now, what is keeping this formation running?"
Zhan Yan was a figure from countless years ago; compared to him, Yun Yanqiu was merely a junior.
If such a person fails to ascend, their lifespan will eventually come to an end. However, how long someone with his level of cultivation can live is indeed an unknown.
Everyone couldn't help but turn their gaze to Yun Yanqiu. He was already considered by several people to be among the group with the highest cultivation level, so obviously only he could answer this question.
"Senior Yun, do you know anything?" Zhao Yuxiao couldn't help but ask.
Facing the curious gazes of the three, Yun Yanqiu sat upright with a calm expression: "Before ascension, one must reach the Void Returning Realm, but after cultivators enter the Nascent Soul stage, they will retreat to the mountains and forests, and do not interfere with each other, with almost no contact."
"So that means?" Wu Yue stared intently at Yun Yanqiu, waiting for him to continue.
"In other words, I don't know how long a cultivator in the Returning Void Realm can live." Yun Yanqiu's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the sparks of expectation in their hearts. "I only know that at my current level, if I fail to advance, I can live for a maximum of two hundred years."
Two hundred years... is a long time for mortals, but it is nothing for cultivators.
"Wait, what do you mean? How do you know this?" Ye Yingying panicked, feeling an unprecedented heaviness in her heart.
Since cultivators rarely contact each other after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, how did Yun Yanqiu find out about this? Could it be that he failed to advance?
"Because I failed, I can feel it."
Yun Yanqiu remained calm as he said this, but to Ye Yingying, it was a bolt from the blue.
"So, how many years do you have left to live?" Ye Yingying's voice trembled slightly as she forced herself to remain calm, but fear was overwhelming her.
Then she heard an even more despairing answer: "Ten years."
Ten years is too short; it vanishes in the blink of an eye.
"How is that possible?! Senior Yun, your cultivation is so high, how could you only live for so long..." Zhao Yuxiao was full of surprise. He even hoped that Yun Yanqiu would say that he was joking.
The atmosphere instantly became heavy. Yun Yanqiu was such a powerful figure, yet he so bluntly stated that his days were numbered.
Ke Yunyanqiu remained calm and composed, not finding anything strange about it at all: "I have been at my current level for a long time, and this lifespan is the longest I can estimate."
"Don't panic, this is a process that everyone goes through..."
"How could I not panic!" Ye Yingying shouted, slamming her hand on the table and rising to her feet, her eyes filled with anger. "Why didn't you say so sooner?! If I had known you only had so little time left, I would never have...!"
Before she could finish speaking, she met Yun Yanqiu's calm and deep eyes, and her voice suddenly stopped.
Ye Yingying felt incredibly despicable, a tearing pain filling her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.
She claimed she was going to respond to him, but she was clearly just using him. She had thought that after getting revenge on the cunning fortune teller, they would have plenty of time together, and she could gradually make up for what she owed Yun Yanqiu.
But he said he only had ten years left to live. What kind of life is that? She doesn't even know when she can take revenge. How much time will she have left to repay Yun Yanqiu for everything he has done for her over the years?
Ye Yingying fell silent, her chest heaving with anger, her suppressed rage ready to erupt at any moment.
Yun Yanqiu also noticed this, and he looked at Ye Yingying somewhat helplessly, not expecting her to react so strongly.
Wu Yue, who was standing nearby, was no fool either. She stood up and, without saying a word, took Zhao Yuxiao's hand and walked out: "You two talk, we'll go out and gather intelligence first."
“Hey, but…” Zhao Yuxiao wanted to say something, but Wu Yue glared at him and stopped him.
After the two left, Ye Yingying could no longer suppress the surging anger within her. She asked Yun Yanqiu, "Was that necessary?"
"What?" Yun Yanqiu didn't react.
"First you locked your spiritual power, causing yourself to suffer a backlash, then you spent so much time searching for me all over the country, and now you're telling me you only have so little time left?"
"Ten years isn't even enough for a Golden Core cultivator to reach the Great Perfection. What are you doing? Since you already know your death is imminent, why waste your time on me?"
“How can this be a waste?” Yun Yanqiu couldn’t help but frown. “Whether it’s locking my spiritual power or spending time looking for you, it’s all my own choice, and I don’t regret it.”
"But I regret it!" Ye Yingying said excitedly. After saying that, she looked at Yun Yanqiu with sadness in her eyes, "If you die first, I will regret it for the rest of my life."
Yun Yanqiu was stunned. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know how to start. He could only stare blankly at Ye Yingying, wanting to grab her hand, but she dodged away.
"You've been so good to me, but I realized it too late." Ye Yingying lowered her head, her hair obscuring her moist eyes. "I thought I'd have plenty of time to spend with you, I thought I could slowly repay you, but you said..."
Yun Yanqiu looked worried. He noticed Ye Yingying's clenched fist, reached out again, and tentatively stroked the back of her hand, coaxing, "Aren't you doing it now? I'm so happy..."
As he spoke, he tilted his head back, brushed aside the black hair on her forehead, and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of Ye Yingying's eyes with his thumb.
Ye Yingying bit her lip tightly, tears blurring her vision. She pressed her cold hand against her cheek and said sadly, "It's not enough, that's far from enough."
Why not just put the revenge on hold? For a moment, this thought popped into Ye Yingying's mind. But then she thought again, as long as the great revenge remained unavenged, the Ghost Calculator would forever be a thorn in her side.
How could she possibly stay by Yun Yanqiu's side with all her heart in such a situation?
A complex mix of emotions surged within Ye Yingying. The more she thought about it, the more she hated herself for her incompetence and ignorance.
Hatred grew stronger, gradually rising to the depths of his eyes and turning them red. Yun Yanqiu realized something was wrong, and he abruptly stood up, cupping Ye Yingying's cheeks to force her to look at him.
"Stop thinking about whether you'll regret it! I'm right in front of you, isn't that more important than anything else?!" he shouted, trying to wake the other person up.
"Don't overcomplicate things. There's still time, there's definitely still time, okay?"
"Hey, what happened? Did you two have a fight?"
A rough voice rang out, and the two looked over to see the innkeeper, the man with a scar on his face, standing in the lobby.
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