Chapter Six: The villain is about to turn evil...
The buzzing in his ears lingered. Ye Chi awoke with his body stiff and cold, his limbs still not fully flexible. He moved around a bit until hot blood flowed through his limbs, then he used his hands to push himself up from the ground. He looked up and noticed Cen Dao and the others rushing over in a panic, surrounding him.
"Are you alright?" Feeling the heavy spiritual pressure on him suddenly disappear, Cen Dao breathed a sigh of relief and took a few steps forward to help Ye Chi up.
Ye Chi let out a breath: "It's nothing."
"The spiritual power on your body, is it your master's?" Shen Rong walked over calmly, only the cold sweat on her forehead could vaguely show her disheveled state in resisting the spiritual pressure. She lowered her long eyelashes and looked Ye Chi up and down without any disguise: "You are here, you have your master's spiritual power on you, where did Elder Tianxue go that day?"
This is a direct statement, but it's the issue that everyone is most concerned about right now.
Ye Chi recounted the events of the past to everyone in detail. A heavy atmosphere descended, settling in everyone's hearts.
"If we weren't so useless, Elder Tianxue would have been able to escape on her own by now," the girl said dejectedly, her eyes slightly red, as if she was about to cry.
Xu Miaomiao was also feeling uneasy, but even in this situation, she took on the role of comforting others, speaking softly: "It's not like that, Junior Sister. Elder Tianxue did this to protect us. Please don't overthink it."
“That’s right, it’s precisely at times like these that we can’t let Elder Tianxue down…”
A group of people huddled together, encouraging each other, and some invisible force seemed to gather among them.
Ye Chi, standing outside the circle, watched silently, showing no intention of joining in.
Even if these people weren't here, and Ya Feiyu had no burdens by his side, his fate would be exactly the same as it is now, without any change. Because his character was set up this way, a character born to be a villain.
Because this book needed a villain, the author, Ya Feiyu, came to be.
Ever since Ya Feiyu led him out of the original illusion, Ye Chi had automatically categorized Ya Feiyu as "dangerous" in his heart. According to the original plot, when they escaped, Ya Feiyu would most likely be driven to a dead end and eventually turn to the dark side. Therefore, the last bit of affection Ye Chi had for Ya Feiyu disappeared completely with his subsequent actions.
The most important thing now is to save my own life.
As for saving people? That's an option that has absolutely no need to be taken.
Once everyone had calmed down, Ye Chi spoke up at the right moment: "My master has told me how to break through to the next realm. Let's leave here first."
Xu Miaomiao looked at him instantly. This emotional girl seemed to have just cried, and her eyes were red. "Elder Tianxue... you'll be alright, right?"
"What are you thinking about!" Before Ye Chi could answer, the cannon fodder who had been silent couldn't help but speak up, arrogantly saying, "Does Elder Tianxue need people like you to worry about her? Instead of worrying about her, you should worry about yourself first! Alright, let's go, this place really gives me a bad feeling... Damn it, I'm not coming here again."
Xu Miaomiao opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to retort, but Cen Dao beside her pressed her down. She looked over in disbelief, her eyes glistening with tiny tears, and her eyelashes were covered with tiny beads of moisture, "...You don't want to save Elder Tianxue either?"
His voice trembled slightly.
After a moment of distraction, Cen Dao realized that he had been bewitched by beauty. He simply closed his eyes and said firmly, "That fellow Daoist is right. Our current combined cultivation is not even a fraction of Elder Tianxue's. How can we possibly deal with someone who can trap Elder Tianxue here?"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but open his eyes a crack and glimpse that Xu Miaomiao was still looking at him. Even the toughest man's heart softened at first. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Let's go out first, then we'll call for reinforcements."
This was not the result Xu Miaomiao wanted, but she remained silent for a moment before nodding in compromise.
If sacrificing many more lives cannot save even one...
She sighed and followed the others.
...
In Ye Chi's eyes now, the illusion is no longer just an old city on the surface.
Beneath each seemingly empty illusion, an unknown black spiritual current slowly floats.
Ya Feiyu had known all along that this was an illusion constructed from spiritual energy, but he never revealed this unusual phenomenon from beginning to end.
For a moment, Ye Chi didn't understand—since he already knew it was an illusion, why did he resolutely choose to step into this trap?
But he quickly realized what was happening.
This was the choice that Ya Feiyu made to protect himself.
A person who can silently transform reality into an illusion must possess considerable cultivation. If he were to make a rash statement and accidentally anger the other party, Ya Feiyu probably couldn't guarantee that he could protect him unharmed amidst the chaos of swords.
Then let's just suppress it for now and not show anything unusual.
Thinking of this, a hint of ambiguity flashed across Ye Chi's eyes.
Ya Feiyu... What are you thinking?
It was only then that Ye Chi realized that, whether as someone within the book or outside of it, he knew very little about Ya Feiyu.
In the original story, it was easy to hang the body of a young child on a tree branch and to casually cut off an old woman's head and hang it on the city wall, but in his case, he was so selfless and so great.
If this is indeed Ya Feiyu's true speech, then was that period of madness also a long nightmare for him?
"Brother Ye, what are you thinking about?" Cen Dao's voice pulled him back to reality. Ye Chi then realized that he had been standing there in a daze for a while. He quickly came to his senses and shook his head: "Nothing... Let's go."
With the cultivation level of the Tribulation Transcending stage, all spiritual power of lower realms is clearly visible.
Ye Chi looked back and saw that the spiritual energy fluctuations on everyone's bodies were clearly visible. Most of them were extremely weak, only emitting a faint light around them. Ye Chi glanced over them listlessly, but his gaze was quickly drawn to a dazzling light.
Trying hard to suppress the curiosity in his eyes, he pretended to look over casually, only to be immediately taken aback.
It turned out to be the direction of Cen Dao.
Cen Dao's body shimmered with colorful light, but the majority of it was golden, because Cen Dao himself possessed a golden spiritual root. But how could he have such powerful spiritual energy?
Even the male lead wouldn't be this overpowered, right?
Although Ye Chi was unsure exactly how high a cultivation level the intensity of the light represented, judging from its brilliance alone, it was at least at the Integration stage, if not the Transformation stage.
His gaze lingered on Cen Dao for a while. Cen Dao seemed to notice something, and looked over with a friendly smile, saying, "Brother Ye, what's wrong? Is there something on me?"
Cen Dao paused slightly. He suddenly felt that there seemed to be something he couldn't understand in Cen Dao's smile, and his intuition told him that it was best not to investigate it now. So he said, "I was just observing the terrain around here. I think I roughly know where to break this illusion."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." The leader among the cannon fodder touched his arm, unsurprisingly covered in goosebumps: "I feel the yin energy in this place is getting heavier and heavier, and I can't breathe."
"Yes, I feel really bad right now..." Xu Miaomiao lowered her long eyelashes, nervously clutching her arm and gently rubbing her thumb.
"Then let's hurry up and go, Brother Ye, don't delay any longer."
Looking into Cen Dao's clear, black-and-white eyes, Ye Chi felt a jolt in his heart, and immediately turned his head away. He tried his best to appear calm, but his back still betrayed a sense of panicked escape.
A faint aura of demonic cultivation lingered in the chilly air. The illusion gradually shed its disguise, about to reveal its true nature.
Crimson crimson crept silently up the edge of the moon, devouring everything in its path.
...
My body gradually felt heavy.
Ya Feiyu dared not make a move rashly. Even the strongest cultivator in the cultivation world would have to be cautious in the illusion, even if the opponent was only a Golden Core cultivator. Moreover, Sikong Yue's cultivation level was not low.
Before the master of the illusion, his every move will be exposed.
Demonic energy lurked and swirled around him, seeping into his body in wisps. A chilling aura swept over him, and Ya Feiyu's eyes widened instantly, his silvery pupils becoming somewhat unfocused.
The inner demon whispered in his ear, with a seductive intent, while Sikong Yue held a lustrous blood jade bead in his palm, tossing it occasionally, his posture languid yet exuding an innate arrogance.
“Follow your heart’s choice, Ya Feiyu.” She spoke with unwavering determination, her words laced with madness, bloodshot eyes rising in her gaze. “Accept this demonic energy, abandon your ethics and morals, tear away your facade of purity and integrity!”
Sensing its master's will, the Blood Jade Bead instantly absorbed the surrounding demonic energy, so dense it could materialize, and its crimson light shone brightly. Ya Feiyu's face turned cold; this Blood Jade Bead was the very culprit that had triggered his inner demons in his past life, leading him to fall into demonic possession.
This tiny bead has endured millions of years of love, hate, anger, and infatuation, all the venomous curses and the most filthy desires.
Finally, these were implanted into the body of a cultivator on the verge of collapse during the Tribulation Transcending stage.
He realized what was happening, bit his tongue without hesitation, raised his hand to summon his sword, and a faint silver light wrapped around his natal divine sword. The silver blade reflected the moonlight, and the pressure of a Tribulation Transcending cultivator descended from above, almost causing Sikong Yue to lose his footing.
"I will cut you down with my sword."
A chilling voice drifted on the wind to his ears, and the moment the last word was uttered, he was already standing before Sikong Yue.
Her silvery-white eyes were purer than any ice.
It makes you want to hold it in your hand and watch those pure eyes become stained with the filth of the world.
...
The heavens and earth trembled violently, making it difficult to stand.
Ye Chi barely managed to keep from falling by bracing himself against the wall. The sudden earthquake came in three waves, each more powerful than the last. After the shockwaves subsided, the group was mostly lying in a heap, and the cannon fodder were still in shock, wondering, "What...is this...?"
"This is Elder Tianxue's spiritual power!" Xu Miaomiao exclaimed after sensing it for a moment with her eyes closed. "Has he encountered some trouble?"
Ye Chi's face was grim; he sensed it more deeply than the others. The shockwave contained powerful spiritual energy, accompanied by a bone-chilling cold—it was indeed from Ya Feiyu. But this spiritual energy seemed somewhat chaotic, proving that Ya Feiyu had definitely encountered some trouble.
This means his departure time will have to be brought forward again.
Ye Chi dared not delay, but he was not an expert in this area, so he could only check one by one, comparing the weakest points of the barrier.
"Master only gave me an hour. It seems we need to move faster," he said in a deep voice, gathering pale blue spiritual energy in his palm and probing it one by one. Even though this cultivation did not come from him, controlling this unclaimed spiritual energy was still too much of a burden for someone who had not yet established his foundation. Cold sweat was already dripping down his forehead.
"Are you still holding on?" Seeing his condition, Xu Miaomiao was somewhat worried. She stepped forward and handed him a pill, "Take this, it should make you feel better."
Ye Chi glanced at her briefly before silently shaking his head in refusal. Xu Miaomiao's gaze darkened slightly, and she was about to say something when, at that moment, the fourth wave of earthquakes struck suddenly, more violently than any of the previous ones, even slightly shattering the illusion.
"Not good!" Cen Dao shouted, instinctively pulling Shen Rong and Xu Miaomiao away. The next instant, a black mist carrying a chilling light swept past where the two had been standing, striking deep into the illusion and actually tearing open a small hole.
Before the group could react, a graceful white figure appeared before them.
The man, dressed in a moon-colored robe with what appeared to be blood-stained hem, wielded a blood-soaked sword and slashed through the illusion with menacing force. Ya Feiyu seemed to be completely enveloped in demonic energy; she showed no trace of the ethereal grace expected of a cultivator.
One of the cannon fodder stammered, "Elder Tianxue...?"
His response was met with Ya Feiyu's blood-stained eyes.
And the sudden flash of sword light.
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