Chapter 55 Hearing the Mountain Sounds This is the Third Time
55
Thus, within the already abyss-like chest, the last high wall collapsed into ruins.
The dust filled the air, and Chen Jinshi opened his lips, but no sound came out.
Miaojue felt that the silence behind him was terrifying, and the air pressure was as low as if he had fallen into the deep sea.
Hmm, maybe he's giving her the silent treatment.
So she stubbornly refused to look back, and the power of retrograde motion under her palm was fully released, enveloping everything in lush greenery.
Be a tree.
Be a tree.
Chen Jinshi's peach blossom eyes were fixed on her straight back. The pale blue veins were hidden in her long, white neck on her collar. He looked at every inch carefully, both bewildered and flustered.
He transformed from a human into a tree, because he saw the wings of a bird that he had never shown to anyone before.
In those fragments of memory, he finally understood her unfinished words, a century too late.
He should be ecstatic.
But my heart is in excruciating pain.
The girl had her eyes closed, her forehead and lips taut.
The Heavenly Bone unleashed a fierce spiritual energy field, clearly indicating that it was using its full power.
The ancestral stone that could give birth to the Netherworld race truly exists like the vast universe, possessing extraordinary power. When the subtle technique was used to manipulate the terminal bud on the ring of the tree, resistance was clearly felt at every inch, as if one were an ark sailing against the current in the primordial chaos.
But time is the most unreasonable force, and it eventually pushed it forward inch by inch. The complex and simple pictographic symbols began to emerge faintly, transforming into inverted and rotating patterns.
Finally, following the almost non-existent cracks and textures on the surface of the boulder, we returned to the moment when the Golden Crow was born.
To restore it completely within the time it existed.
When the surrounding wall disappeared, what lay before them was the real... ancestral land where they had once lived.
The wondrous Heavenly Bone stopped humming and slowly raised its head.
The moment the heart of this century-old labyrinth was opened, the world trembled. She heard the long roar of the azure dragon and the low growl of the unicorn. She also heard her older brothers and sisters' excited, somewhat incoherent roars and cheers.
It was Miaomiao; only she had the power, only she could do it...
The ethereal white jade barrier vanished, finally revealing the true appearance of their ancestral land.
What lay before me was a scene of utter obscurity, resembling both a river and a sea, or a dense grove of trees.
The crimson sunset faintly fell to the ground, colliding with the azure sky, interspersed with lush greenery, and occasionally glittering with golden light and icy white light like cracks, creating a completely chaotic and misty scene.
Upon closer inspection, one discovers that this is a vast spiritual field where all spiritual attributes intersect... Ten spiritual attributes are mixed together in a chaotic manner, obscuring the soil beneath one's feet, the distant mountains and rivers, and the village they built with their own hands.
A hush fell over all directions; no one dared to move. The older siblings must have been very disappointed.
Miao Jue took a deep breath. She roughly knew how to dissipate these spiritual fields, but she needed the person behind her.
Miaojue's ears twitched, but after that, there was inexplicably no sound from behind.
It seems the Cold War has gone very far.
But Miaojue felt her anger was justified; she simply didn't want him to continue draining her like an unfillable hole, and besides, she had clearly suffered a lot and felt wronged herself—
The brilliant idea turned back, dissatisfied.
That glance, however, met a pair of terrifyingly red eyes.
At first glance, his eyes appeared calm, but within his black pupils seemed to float and shatter thousands of embers, even as he pressed his lips together to maintain his composure.
But it still looked like a look of near collapse.
The dust and fragments brought by the red ribbon at his fingertips had all dissipated, and he was completely unable to recover from that memory.
We stand precisely before our ancestral land, precisely where everything begins and ends.
He was smug because his heart had nourished her growth, unaware that she had become a tree for his sake.
Chen Jinshi trembled as he hugged his arms, as if trying to fold his wings to hide his rapidly collapsing state. His voice, which was as clear as shattered jade, had broken down: "...a brilliant trick."
What should he do?
It turns out that he owed her every single second of her life.
Every wound inflicted by fate and love can be repaid with blood and bone scars, but if she cherished him so much from the beginning, how can he tear himself apart to repay her?
Miaojue was stunned for a moment, then crossed her arms and stared at him for a long time.
Finally, she sighed and patted his shoulder with her soft palm, as if patting his wings.
“I know you’re excited,” Miao Jue said sensibly, not getting into a tantrum. “I’m excited too, having not returned for a century… but look at this place now. It’s become Dongfang Qianye’s Five Elements Chaos Refining Furnace. Of course, he won’t just sit here and wait to die. This is probably…”
Before she could finish speaking, she was suddenly pulled into a burning embrace.
He pressed her tightly against his chest, as if trying to fill a hole in his heart.
Miaojue blinked, finally realizing that he didn't seem to be giving her the silent treatment.
This bird clearly didn't have a heart, yet its pulse was pounding fiercely against the side of its neck where it was pressed against her cheek.
The frantic, leaping force was like that of a bird that had nowhere else to go, only murmuring to itself, "I'm back... I'm back."
His perch.
The place she left him as a refuge.
Miaojue barely managed to lift her head from his shoulder, not understanding his nonsensical words, but staring blankly at the reddened corners of his eyes.
Chen Jinshi didn't speak, but simply closed his eyes. An endless torrent of ash rose from beneath him, chasing after and devouring all the mixed spiritual attributes within the second ring.
He cleaned away the chaotic energy inch by inch.
At that moment, they finally saw the garden in the distance, where bells were ringing.
And beneath their feet was familiar ground.
…
The ancestral land revealed its true nature.
Once upon a time, there were mountains surrounding a secluded village, where flowers bloomed in the valleys, fish leaped in the pools, and the grass was as soft as a velvet carpet.
Although the mountain village has vanished without a trace, the true scent of one's homeland wafts into the air, as if the sounds of those free-spirited mountain echoes resounding through the sky.
People I haven't seen in so long—
Does stepping onto familiar ground mean returning home?
The colossal beasts that could reach the heavens and the earth, fly over mountains and dive into the seas, fell silent for a long time.
When the silver fox with its neck outstretched came to its senses and raised its paw, it realized that it had been crying its eyes out without even realizing it.
Fuji stood at the very front, carefully tucking the tiger bones he had collected into his robes. He slowly lifted his foot and led them forward.
Reaching this point demonstrates that their little girl has carried out their sole will to an unbelievable degree.
Thus, the fox was trapped in a flowing banquet, its blood drained; the panda had its entire skeleton removed; the snail was trapped in a pond; the cunning deer was frozen and kept underground; the qilin was imprisoned in the deep sea, its tendons severed; and the azure dragon had all its scales ground off and turned into a thick fog…
They are all still alive, they came back alive.
In the distant Tianyan Kingdom, the wind-elemental divine steed left behind to clean up the mess suddenly glanced into the distance and snorted.
For many years, Ling Qi ran non-stop for a very long time until she finally stopped when she reached Beiling by following the only remaining clue.
But he still didn't reach the finish line.
At this moment, Ling Qi's horse hooves landed on the ground under the marriage tree. He knew that Wei Yi was right here. His incessant hooves finally slowed down completely, and the horse's head drooped under its mane, gently nudging the ground.
"It feels like I have a home now, Sister Wei."
Little Horse didn't know if the only one underground could hear it.
But the branches of the tree swayed gently, and the drooping branches brushed against his sleek horseback.
…
The sole legacy of will lies in the secret technique; though it carries hope, danger still lurks everywhere.
Having occupied the ancestral land for a hundred years and managed to consume the entire Underworld Clan to this extent, Dongfang Qianye would certainly not fall from his pedestal so easily.
She broke free from the unusually hot embrace of Chen Jinshi, and looking at the pure white, tranquil garden in the distance, her expression gradually became serious.
The Netherworld Clan members were also searching the entire ring, finding many noble immortals who had nowhere to escape, but the most crucial person was still missing.
Miao Jue stared intently at the last, gleaming white jade wall, a bad premonition rising in his heart.
The timeline of the Ancestral Stone has been reversed, and it should have returned to its original position.
But Miaojue looked at the tranquil and peaceful place in the distance, "Zero Ring," the core of the Immortal Court that had not been shown to anyone for a hundred years, and its outer walls were also...
What is the texture of the ancestral stone?
"That's a stone core."
The white-clad youth beside him finally came to his senses. His eyes were still red and misty, and his gaze turned cold as he stared ahead. "An old man who doesn't die is a thief. That old thief, Dongfang Qianye, cut up the Ancestral Stone."
Miaojue suddenly opened her eyes wide.
"That place where the Netherworld race was truly born..."
Chen Jinshi nodded: "It is a stone core."
No one knows why such an extraterrestrial object landed on a remote island far from the world.
But within that mysterious and wondrous sea of stone cores, the first small, floating snake was born. From then on, the process of evolution, spanning millions of years, began.
For some reason, the ingenious method made him shudder.
Amidst her inner turmoil, she met Chen Jinshi's calm gaze—and he had guessed it too.
After completely breaking through and entering the ancestral land, they finally understood...
How did Dongfang Qianye obtain the Ash Bone?
Miao Jue once thought that the ashes that accidentally fell when the Golden Crow first descended to earth were collected by him for replication and research, or perhaps it was like the experiment of the chaotic five elements spiritual energy here just now, because the ashes were a kind of fusion.
It turns out that none of them were true.
Dongfang Qianye used a method that was both the most secretive and the most direct.
He cut the ancestral stone, transforming the outer stone into a boundary of two rings, which only a few people can enter to receive the wise ruler's instructions.
His true location is the core of the Ancestral Stone, the place where the life of the Underworld race is conceived.
Thus, for the past century, he has never left the core of the stone... He has been gestating himself!
He wants to transform himself into a member of the Underworld race?!
The power of the Ancestral Stone naturally came to an end after the birth of the Golden Crow, because the five elements of heaven and earth were completely integrated here, and the Ash Bones were endless, without birth or restraint.
Here, the natural process has ended, and the journey has come to a close.
Dongfang Qianye forcibly perpetuated this power; he replicated the ashes of a human body. Could that still...?
Does it possess a true form?
Miaojue's fingertips unconsciously grasped the cuff of Chen Jinshi's sleeve.
If it weren't for an accident, if it weren't for the emergence of the eleventh power... he really would have spent a hundred years completely devouring the Underworld Clan.
A hundred years ago, she was the only one who could think of this cause and effect. She understood this person and knew that Dongfang Qianye did not just want to stop at the advancement of the Netherworld Clan's flesh and blood. Even though he had imprisoned everyone, it was still not enough.
He wanted to become a member of the Underworld Clan.
Just like when he found and mined a large number of raw stones that could imprison the power of the Netherworld Clan, he named them "Immortal-Imprisoning Stones" with a profound thought in mind.
From the very beginning, he knew clearly that such powerful creatures that could fly and escape into the earth, born and nurtured by nature, were the true immortals!
Therefore, he orchestrated the "Heavenly Fate Tribulation" in Langhuan, aiming to refine a pair of Heavenly Fate Pearls and achieve his ultimate goal—
He wants to truly become a member of the Underworld Clan.
A soft murmur drifted from within that pristine white garden.
From the depths of the garden, the hem of the man's pure white floral robe stretched up to the wall, where cracked ice flowers bloomed and grew again, cascading out like snake vines.
Dongfang Qianye sat beneath the giant bell and slowly opened his eyes.
Through the high walls of Zero Ring Garden, he seemed to see the dark eyes of the Golden Crow.
Dongfang Qianye sighed deeply, resting his head against the giant bell. "Weiyi, I've finally caught up with you..."
Outside the garden, Chen Jinshi's fingertips tapped the surface of the jade compass.
The tribulations of fate and love are now only three tribulations remaining.
The secret lies in the fingertips.
The moment the Heavenly Mandate Seal is completed, Dongfang Qianye will immediately harvest the Heavenly Mandate Pearl and transform it into its complete form.
At the same instant, the tree within Miaojue's body will break through and advance to the Xuan-level bone.
It's a gamble on that delicate, fragile balance.
Whom will fate ultimately favor?
Just then, Dongfang Yaotian and Gong Yuqiu flew in hand in hand.
When they saw the Second Ring Road wall disappear, they immediately showed expressions of joy and emotion.
The brilliant idea made him involuntarily rub his forehead.
—The most important thing in the world today rests on this perfect couple.
Dongfang Yaotian stood outside the garden without any hesitation, knocking on the door and calling out.
Unexpectedly, a melodious sound, like the strings of a zither, actually came from within the garden. It was the voice of a middle-aged man who was stroking the sprawling ice flowers and began to tell them a story.
"The Yin-Yang Destiny Seals within your bodies were actually created by her and me together..."
Dongfang Qianye's voice was melodious and pleasant as she told a story of meeting and falling in love, only to discover that they were different species.
She didn't want to hear the secret, but then she saw the male and female leads with thoughtful and pained expressions. She suddenly realized that the original ending was that the villain would destroy the world, and the male and female leads would distrust and turn against each other. But in front of the marriage tree, the male lead was moved by the villain, and she couldn't bear to be sad anymore.
So now this place has become a new part of their torturous romance.
"The Langhuan Destiny Seal can actually be tempered in other forms, but only the Tribulation of Love aligns with our original intention in creating the Destiny Seal..."
Dongfang Qianye seemed unconcerned whether the people around him were listening, "But I've never cared whether she's a snake or a human..."
He loved only her, but not her people.
But the only one who loves her is her clansman.
Dongfang Qianye's eyes were filled with sorrow as he saw the Qilin, Azure Dragon, and Cunning Deer approaching him, united as they had been in the past. After a century of hardship, it seemed that only their hunched and broken bodies had changed, but the hearts they loved so deeply remained unchanged.
His sorrowful gaze finally softened with joy as he stroked the ice flowers that had bloomed when they first met, "But now, I am finally worthy of you..."
He reached out and pushed, and the sun slowly rose from the sky above the garden, turning into a pale, waning moon in the night.
He had been in the core of the ancestral stone for a hundred years, and with a wave of his hand, he enveloped everyone within it.
After hearing this story, Dongfang Yaotian and Gong Yuqiu indeed had a fierce argument.
Dongfang Qianye hid in the night and peacefully closed his eyes.
…
It's terrible, absolutely terrible.
Miaojue clenched her fists tightly; she felt nauseous.
Even if they returned here with all their broken bodies, the pain in their hearts and the shadow of a century would never allow them to return to the peaceful and simple joy of the mountain village.
The instigator even dared to use the name of love.
It's as if this fateful love tribulation is his heartfelt gift.
As Miaojue looked at the devastated ground, a wave of nausea rose in her throat, and suddenly a pair of warm, cool palms covered her ears.
“This is not love,” Chen Jinshi said clearly and calmly, with certainty. “You don’t need to listen.”
His breath clearly entered through his sleeve.
It's as if he really knows what love is.
Surprisingly, Miaojue also calmed down.
She was in his palm, her eyes gazing at the ancestral land shrouded in daylight, a place devoid of life.
The voice of Dongfang Qianye kept echoing in her mind. She desperately wanted to tear off his hypocritical face, but she seemed to have no method. She could only wait for the moment when the Heavenly Mandate Seal was completed and try to seize a chance.
Suddenly, a tiny speck of dust brushed against the tip of my nose.
It seemed to be fragments of the red ribbon that remained in his sleeve, carrying distant memories, as they passed before her eyes.
She finally understood why Chen Jinshi's expression was so unusual, and at the same time, it also awakened something deep within her.
"I think I know what reaching the Xuan Bone realm means..."
Miaojue looked up in a daze, meeting Chen Jinshi's calm, dark eyes. At this moment, nearing the end of her destiny's tribulation, she finally understood the compassionate gaze from a hundred years ago.
Compassion, heartache, yet boundless hope.
It was as if the lake that had been damming her heart had suddenly found an outlet, and she felt relieved at that moment.
There is one way.
There is one, the only way.
Even as the dust settled, his gaze seemed to tremble slightly.
After a long pause, she lowered her head, spoke softly, and smiled, "...I know too."
Now, all that remains is to wait for the moment when the tribulation of fate and love is completed.
Even in the dim light before dawn, Chen Jinshi felt a sense of relief. Looking into the girl's clear, watery eyes, he suddenly whispered to himself, "That time, in my final attempt, I was preparing to refine them into a pair of Destiny Pearls..."
Miaojue blinked; of course she knew that "that time" referred to the original ten-year ending.
Chen Jinshi's beautiful eyes were completely reflected in hers, and her voice carried a hint of regretful laughter, "The Heavenly Destiny Pearl can grant all wishes, and I wanted to... find you."
Miao Jue's fluttering eyelashes paused slightly, and looking back at all this twist of fate, she finally chuckled helplessly.
"So, have we made up?" Chen Jinshi asked, holding her in his arms.
Miaojue shook her head, saw his dejected expression, and laughed.
"It's never broken."
From a hundred years ago to the present, best friends, youthful feelings.
His enthusiasm has never waned.
Miao Jue watched the male and female protagonists slowly regaining their senses and having their seizure in the distance, and quietly called out his real name: "Jin Shi".
"Hmm." His voice was slightly tense.
"You'd better be prepared. Once I really break through to the Profound Bone Realm... I'll remember everything."
All the long-forgotten details in my mind, the bittersweet and the painful, will come back to life as vividly as ever.
Along with the primordial, time-traveling power, it surged towards them.
Chen Jinshi immediately thought about it nervously.
But there were so many bad things he had said and bad deeds that it was impossible to pinpoint them all at once.
“For example, I’ve remembered now,” Miaojue said. “I didn’t peek at you while you were showering, nor did I kiss you first, but you kissed me twice.”
Dust settled, and my heart skipped a beat; I was tense and flustered.
Oh, he lied before because he was heartbroken, saying that she was the one who initiated it.
But the long night is ahead.
The girl's lips curved into a smile, and her almond-shaped eyes also curved. Right by the small pond where they used to squat, she looked up, just as she had when she was a boy.
"Alright, now you can do it for the third time."
…
She took her last breath, and then all the oxygen was taken away by the scalding drops.
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