Chapter 297 The Chapter of Ten Thousand Years (2)
"Where's Jianjian?" The three words seemed to burst from his lips as Ye Xuanzhi gripped the talisman in his hand tightly.
"How would I know?" Murong Yunyan said sarcastically. "What you should be worried about now is the current state of the Xuanmen sect."
"Haven't you always hated me for taking your inner sect spot...?"
The other person lowered their head and murmured something, which Murong Yunyan didn't hear clearly. She frowned and asked, "What?"
"I say," Ye Xuanzhi slowly raised his head, his eyes meeting hers directly, "let's settle the past and present matters here."
——
When Mu Jianjian opened her eyes, she found herself standing next to a magnificent palace. The sky was covered with dark clouds, just like the ones that had hovered over Xuanmen before she lost consciousness. Soon, rain began to pour down. If she hadn't been able to protect herself with her true energy, she would have been soaked instantly.
There were no shockwaves from the fighting around her, nor any sound. Looking down, she saw that she was wearing a beige palace robe and had golden artifacts on her wrists. Her cultivation level had also fallen to the low stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
This is clearly not her own body.
And the surrounding area should not be the familiar Xuanmen (mystical gate).
Just as Mu Jianjian was making up her mind, a reproachful voice came from beside her, "Why haven't you gone to help Immortal Venerable Ziluo yet, you maid?"
Zilu Immortal Venerable?
Master!
She really did return to the upper realm ten thousand years ago once again!
Upon hearing that familiar name, Mu Jianjian's eyes lit up. She looked at the woman who appeared beside her carrying a fruit platter, "Master... where is Immortal Venerable Zilu?"
The woman, dressed in the exact same palace robe as her, looked puzzled but still slowly said, "You didn't know that Immortal Venerable Zilu was punished by the Emperor to kneel on the long road for ten thousand miles to pray for the gods?"
Mu Jianjian's heart sank. She quickly turned around and walked down the back passage. Her steps were so fast that she didn't even notice the woman calling her from behind. After walking for about several hundred meters, she finally saw a beautiful woman changing clothes in a large hall with purple lamps. She looked tired.
The woman's eyes curved into crescents. After waving her hand to dismiss the people around her, she looked tenderly at the bewildered girl standing at the door and said, "You've come."
As if she had finally arrived at a safe haven after going through countless dangers, Mu Jianjian knew that her master recognized her when she saw the familiar tone. She quickly walked forward and immediately saw the woman's hands, which were red from the cold.
"Master, you..." She was about to speak when she stopped herself under the gaze of Immortal Venerable Zilu.
"I'm fine, but this isn't the time to talk about this."
Mu Jianjian followed Zilu's gaze toward the doorway, where two maids helped a slender woman dressed in luxurious attire slowly appear in their line of sight. At her master's prompting, she lowered her head and looked down.
"Zi Luo respectfully welcomes the Emperor and Empress." Zi Luo's legs were already sore from kneeling for a long time, but her expression did not change in the slightest, and she showed the woman in front of her with the same respect and admiration as always.
She was the Empress?
A sense of surprise crossed Mu Jianjian's mind. She walked behind her master and listened quietly to their conversation.
"Immortal Venerable Zilu is a clever person, and naturally understands the meaning behind it." The Empress curled her lips, her eyes devoid of a smile, referring to the time she had just made the other party kneel and crawl for ten thousand miles.
A blatant threat.
"Yes," Zilu replied respectfully.
The Emperor and Empress smiled with satisfaction. She then offered some polite words of comfort and concern before leaving happily, completely unaware of Mu Jianjian standing beside her.
After the other person's figure disappeared around the corner, Immortal Venerable Zilu helped the girl to her feet. As the two left the Immortal Palace together, Immortal Venerable Zilu asked after a long while.
"Qu You, is he doing well?"
Mu Jianjian suddenly paused. In her conversation with her senior brother Qu You, she could feel his love for their master. However, in his mind, it always seemed to be a one-sided effort from him. But now it seemed that this was not the case.
“Senior Brother Qu You misses you very much and has been searching for a way to bring you back to life,” she said truthfully, biting her lip.
“That silly child.” Immortal Venerable Zilu sighed softly, her gaze tender and lingering. “Actually, when I think about it carefully, even knowing the ending, he is still the one I can’t let go of the most.”
A desolate atmosphere enveloped the woman. Mu Jianjian said softly, "Senior Brother Qu You is the one who can't let go of you the most, so why do you keep hiding your feelings for him?"
Qu You's initial reason for working at the Golden Crow Shrine in the mortal realm for the Celestial Palace was solely for his master's sake.
"They say that true lovers will eventually be united, but it's always too difficult," after entering the palace, Immortal Venerable Zilu walked slowly to a corner of the jade table. "To have seen through the secrets of heaven is my misfortune. Since I know the ending, why should others grieve for me?"
"Kneeling and traveling ten thousand miles is the Emperor and Empress's warning to me. They attempt to break the rift in the world, yet they are unwilling to bear any responsibility." She chuckled lightly, her eyes full of sarcasm, and slowly unfolded the jade slip on the table.
Mu Jianjian sensed something else in his words: "'Responsibility' means you have to break boundaries and create gaps?"
“Disciple, everything has a cause and effect. Once greed arises, one must bear the consequences,” Zilu Immortal Venerable inscribed a few words on the jade slip, then took out a small wooden box and put a booklet inside. “The opening of the crack is already a foregone conclusion, and I have no right to interfere.”
Upon seeing the familiar booklet, Mu Jianjian's pupils constricted slightly. "Master, this is me—"
Before she could finish speaking, the woman took out the amethyst necklace from under her clothes and slowly put it into the box. Then she looked up at her and said, "Let me think. Can you teach me how to write the characters in your area?"
——
This is why Mu Jianjian carved words on the wooden box in the Xuan Tian Secret Realm. It turns out that the ending was already predetermined thousands of years ago.
As Mu Jianjian watched as Immortal Venerable Zilu inscribed the three crooked words "I love you" on the jade slip, her nose tingled and her eyes welled up with tears.
If the Emperor and Empress are to prevent the rift from opening, the price would be that the little prince would never have grown to his current level. However, if the rift is opened, there is almost no way to merge it back together.
Moreover, the gap had already opened, leaving almost no way back.
After putting away the wooden box, Immortal Venerable Zilu slowly raised her eyes to look at the girl, "It's all over now, after tonight."
After she finished handling everything, she stretched out her hands to Mu Jianjian and said, "Come with me. Remember, you are an observer, not a participant, okay?"
The girl answered her with a gentle nod.
Immortal Venerable Zilu's heart finally calmed down a bit. She condensed a golden phantom butterfly in her hand and gently placed it on Mu Jianjian's shoulder.
“A cultivator who can reach several levels of the Pupil Transformation Technique must have undergone the baptism of three lifetimes and still retain the purest spiritual soul. It must adhere to its original heart and never forget its Dao heart, and it must also have a tenacious will to support the transformation of the illusory butterfly into reality. Therefore, I knew at the first glance that you were the most suitable disciple for me.”
"Qu You's ruthless and decisive personality is actually not suitable for this, so even if he can master the first level of the Pupil Transformation Technique, the Illusion Butterfly will never materialize."
"And today marks the first day of the war between the Emperor and Empress and the Demon Lord." Immortal Venerable Zilu stood on the high platform of the Immortal Palace, gazing at the densely packed group of cultivators standing not far away, as well as the Emperor and Empress at the head, her eyes filled with pity. "I'm afraid it's also the last day."
Mu Jianjian's gaze frantically searched for a familiar voice on the Demon Palace side, where the Immortal Palace cultivators were opposed, and finally, in the next moment, she saw a man dressed in white with a cold and aloof face, like a banished immortal.
She was about to speak, but then stopped herself, clenching her fists and staring at the city below that had become a battlefield. She couldn't help but want to go down and help, but Zilu Immortal Venerable pressed her shoulders down instantly.
Seeing the girl's red eyes, he sighed, "Before things calm down, you should transform into a phantom butterfly."
With a flick of her sleeve, Mu Jianjian instantly transformed into the illusory butterfly on her shoulder.
"Master! Master... let me out!"
No matter how she shouted, no sound could be heard from her in the air.
Zilu Immortal Venerable slowly glanced at Qu You, who was fighting valiantly for the Immortal Palace on the battlefield, stared at him one last time, and then looked up at the opening that was gradually growing larger against the azure sky.
The black gap was originally inconspicuous, like a thin black line, until the stench of blood from the battlefield became increasingly pungent and irritating. As the rising steam slowly drifted to the area around the gap, it suddenly opened into a large red and black mouth, as if stimulated by something.
It was so dark it blotted out the sun and was even terrifying.
The Emperor and Empress looked up at everything in the sky, their expressions filled with excitement and madness.
If they can get through this gap... they might just ascend to godhood!
Once this crack widens further, all the efforts and planning over the years will not have been in vain!
Chi Wenqing raised his eyes indifferently, staring at the crimson black hole above him, and ordered his subordinates, "If anything falls from above, do not touch it."
After speaking, he slightly raised his hand and looked up at the edge of the celestial palace, erasing the strange feeling in his heart.
It's been so long since I've seen her... I'm starting to have illusions?
That intense and tender gaze was something only she would give him.
"Yes." Yingge nodded, his vigilance towards the things this Immortal Palace had done rising to its highest level.
Mu Jianjian transformed into a weak and powerless phantom butterfly. Even the slightest fluctuations from the surrounding cultivators could cause her translucent body to sway, which made her extremely frustrated and helpless.
Since her master could use the Pupil Transformation Technique to turn her into a phantom butterfly, could she also transform back on her own?
Just as she was about to activate her pupil-turning technique, she heard a shrill scream from afar.
Looking up, one could see that the crack in the sky had split open to a length of tens of meters, and near the black and red crack, the Emperor actually pushed the Empress into it to test it!
The emperor and empress were startled by the sudden movement of the person behind them, but they didn't have time to react. After falling into the crevice and touching the black liquid inside, their entire bodies were instantly corroded and turned into lifeless shells!
Immortal Venerable Zilu's gaze narrowed slightly, clearly not surprised. She crossed her hands, obviously beginning to use a secret technique. Although Mu Jianjian knew the consequences, she couldn't help but feel a sense of being mocked by fate.
They thought that ignoring the killing would bring endless treasures, but they never expected it to be a Pandora's box that would bring endless suffering to the world.
The Emperor was clearly startled by the Empress's miserable state. He was about to retreat when he turned around and saw the white-robed man standing in front of him.
"Your Majesty, it's time to settle our score." He raised a fingertip, on which flickered the Black Lotus Sacred Flame, a direct inheritance of the Bai Clan.
The Emperor felt no extra emotion towards the recently deceased Empress, and sneered, not taking him seriously at all. He thought he could easily get rid of this pawn who had been deliberately allowed to grow, but he did not expect that the other party had already grown to the same level as him!
Every move he makes exudes ruthlessness and mercilessness, completely disregarding the harm it causes to himself—harming the enemy a thousand while losing eight hundred of his own!
That madman!
"Disciple, this is the final move of the Pupil Transformation Technique," Immortal Venerable Zilu stood atop the high cliff, slowly spreading her arms. At that moment, countless illusory butterflies surged from her body upwards into the black and red rift in the sky. "Descent—"
The black liquid that slowly flowed down from the crevice was gradually touched by the surging phantom butterflies. When the two collided, the black liquid perished and the phantom butterflies were annihilated, resulting in a strong shockwave.
"No--"
An ominous premonition welled up in Mu Jianjian's heart. She looked at Ziluo Immortal Venerable, whose body had become transparent, and then at Chi Wenqing, who was fighting with the Emperor Venerable.
The black liquid above flowed more and more, gradually falling over the layers of phantom butterflies and landing on the two of them—
Once the black liquid attaches to the soul, it will be absorbed and everything will be over.
"Pupil Transformation Technique, Shadow Transformation—" As she slowly uttered these five words, the light emanating from her right pupil gradually flowed throughout her body until she transformed back into human form.
"How could I possibly die!" The Emperor roared in disbelief as he stared at the black liquid that was gradually invading his body. However, at this moment, the battlefield was littered with corpses and filled with wails, and few cultivators noticed the commotion.
Chi Wenqing slowly lowered her eyes, not wanting to pay attention to him, only wanting to wait for her soul to perish.
Since the day she left, his life seemed to have lost all meaning.
"Huang Quan—" A familiar girl's sweet voice suddenly appeared in his ears. Chi Wenqing thought he was hallucinating, but unexpectedly, a strange woman's face appeared in front of him, and the expression in her eyes was as familiar as ever.
"You're not allowed to die! I won't let you die!" Mu Jianjian grabbed him by the collar, her eyes glistening with tears, but she didn't utter a word. Instead, with a wave of her hand, a torrent of Yellow Springs flowed down from above, engulfing them all!
She gazed one last time at the increasingly faint breath of Venerable Zilu, then looked up at the gap that had closed up again into a black line, before abruptly letting her body sink to the very bottom with the Yellow Springs.
This time, she doesn't want to be a bystander! She wants to be a player!
If the Yellow Springs do not accept souls that perish, then she will seize the souls and place them in the Yellow Springs!
She must save Chi Wenqing, and she must save her master too!
When he opened his eyes again, a corrosive smell filled his nostrils. Beneath a dusty, yellow sky, a stream of turbid Yellow Spring water flowed ceaselessly.
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