IVYSCP - Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Following Qiu Feng's aura, Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin passed through the center of the storm. There, a rift in the earth yawned open, as if split by heavenly lightning. But to create a rift of this magnitude, it would have to be the heavenly lightning of an ascension tribulation.

Ling Qingyue kept a constant watch on the red line on Pei Yin's hand. Fortunately, during this time, she saw no sign of the red line spreading or growing.

A fierce gale howled out from the rift. The wind that burst forth had almost taken shape, like countless sharp blades slashing chaotically through the air.

"Hold tight," Pei Yin said in a low voice, her words so soft they were nearly swallowed by the surrounding wind.

Ling Qingyue glanced at her, then raised her hand and wrapped it around Pei Yin's waist.

They had a formation around them. Why fear those wind blades penetrating through?

A golden light enveloped the two of them. Pei Yin held her close in her arms, riding the formation as they descended against the wind along the rift.

Below the rift, it was so dark that one couldn't see their own hand in front of them. By the golden light, Ling Qingyue looked up at Pei Yin. The woman's profile was smooth and luminous. Her brows and eyes were delicate as a painting. Her nose bridge was refined and elegantly straight. Her lips were a moist, rosy red, slightly pursed.

She stared, lost in thought, until the corner of those pursed lips curled into a small arc. Only then did Ling Qingyue blink and come back to her senses.

When she suddenly looked up and met a pair of smiling eyes, Ling Qingyue immediately lowered her head, heat rising to her face.

Ling Qingyue bit her lip in frustration. How had she been caught daydreaming like an infatuated fool!

"Go ahead and look. I'll let you look."

Pei Yin's voice reached Ling Qingyue's ears, and she caught a hint of smugness in it.

Annoyed, Ling Qingyue moved the hand she had on the woman's waist and gave a light, measured pinch. "What's wrong? Can't I look?" she said matter-of-factly.

As she said this, her face was still burning, not just the side with the demonic markings.

Pei Yin chuckled softly. "You can look. Only you can look like this."

Other than Ling Qingyue, there was no second person who could stare at her so blankly from this close in her embrace.

Her tone had a little bit of smugness again, as if she were flicking her tail.

Ling Qingyue glanced behind her out of the corner of her eye. She didn't see what she wanted to see, then belatedly realized that their ears and tails had been retracted when they entered the Demon Palace.

What a pity. She really wanted to see if Pei Yin would wag her tail.

Retracting her gaze, Ling Qingyue habitually looked at Pei Yin's hand again.

The red line remained below her wrist, not having spread up her arm.

Ling Qingyue breathed a small sigh of relief.

Passing through the rift, there was actually another vast space below. Strange-looking black rocks were piled all around. At first glance, they resembled various yao beasts. Specks of phosphorescent light floated in the air, bringing a faint glow to the dark underground space.

In the center of the cluster of black rocks was an open clearing. Qiu Feng was standing there waiting for them.

Looking from afar, Ling Qingyue noticed that there seemed to be something in the clearing, like stone pillars.

Arriving at the clearing in an instant, Ling Qingyue clearly saw the stone pillars. Twelve stone pillars were fixed at specific points, and on the pillars were carved certain ancient, complex patterns.

Qiu Feng stood in the center of the twelve pillars.

Ling Qingyue asked, "Is this the place for the blood-splitting demonization?"

Qiu Feng, with her back to them, said in a low voice, "Yes."

Ling Qingyue laughed aloud and asked again, "I want to know, how did you originally come here behind Liuli's back to undergo blood-splitting demonization?"

Qiu Feng and Yu Liuli entered the Great Wilderness together. With Qiu Feng's cultivation at the time, she could not have reached this place. Even if she could, coming and going would have taken days. Yu Liuli could not have failed to notice.

Therefore, the place for the blood-splitting demonization could not be here. Or perhaps there was never any blood-splitting demonization at all. It was Qiu Feng's lie from the beginning, and her goal was to lure the two of them here.

"You doubted me, but you still came." Qiu Feng turned around. She slowly raised both hands, and the demonic aura around her poured out like sand and water. The pitch-black mist rolled toward the stone pillars, climbing up them in the blink of an eye.

The demonic qi touched the stone pillars, meticulously filling the carvings upon them. Up to the tops of the pillars, the demonic qi converged into lines. The twelve lines intersected and transformed in midair, ultimately forming an ancient restriction.

As the restriction took shape, the demonic markings on Qiu Feng actually faded away, revealing her original appearance.

"Ling Qingyue." Qiu Feng's eyes brimmed with tears, her pupils forced to a blood-red hue. She looked at the person not far away and said, word by word, "Kill Lou Wudu. Take good care of Liuli. Otherwise..."

Her lips quivered, but the final threatening words would not come out.

Pei Yin stared at the restriction before her and said coldly, "This is an ancient sacrificial array."

"Sacrificial!?" Ling Qingyue said in shock.

A flicker of surprise also appeared in Qiu Feng's eyes, but it was quickly suppressed. "The Immortal Venerable is indeed knowledgeable and well-informed, to even know of this array."

"Qiu Feng, what exactly are you trying to do?" Ling Qingyue stepped forward and said sternly, "How can things have come to this? If you perform this sacrifice, have you considered Liuli? She loves you so much. If she learns of today's events, what will you have her do!?"

At the mention of Yu Liuli, Qiu Feng's eyes softened, and hot tears immediately rolled down her cheeks.

"Liuli... I have wronged her... But, but there's no turning back now. One wrong move, and everything I did before is for naught."

"How can there be no turning back... ugh!"

Before the words were finished, Ling Qingyue suddenly bent over, clutching her chest, with cold sweat pouring down her forehead.

Pei Yin: "Qingyue!"

Ling Qingyue grabbed Pei Yin's hand: "The Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart!"

This sacrificial array was affecting the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart.

Ling Qingyue looked up at Qiu Feng. Before her eyes, everything was a blood-red blur. She saw countless red threads before her, extending to her own body, wrapping around her neck, hands, feet, and form. And those threads were precisely spreading from Qiu Feng's chest. Through Qiu Feng's body, Ling Qingyue saw a heart wound with threads in Qiu Feng's chest.

Ling Qingyue pressed her chest, feeling the heartbeat in her palm. The rhythm of that heartbeat was identical to the heart in Qiu Feng's chest!

A buzzing sound filled her ears. Ling Qingyue could no longer hear Pei Yin's voice clearly. She stood up and wanted to enter the sacrificial array. She wanted Qiu Feng's heart. She was still missing half a heart.

"Qingyue!"

Pei Yin wanted to pull Ling Qingyue back, but her outstretched hand suddenly froze. The scene before her eyes instantly changed. There was no Ling Qingyue, no Qiu Feng, and no eerie sacrificial array.

"Pei Yin."

Suddenly, someone called her.

Pei Yin spun around to find her master, Chu Qianshan, frowning at her. "Awake from the dream?"

"Dream?" Pei Yin asked subconsciously.

Chu Qianshan gave a cold hum. She lifted the hem of her robe and sat down, pouring two cups of tea. "Yes, you were dreaming again. This time it was a sweet dream, but too many dreams can easily breed nightmares. I was afraid you'd get trapped and refuse to wake up, so I called you awake."

Pei Yin narrowed her eyes. She raised her hand and lashed out at Chu Qianshan with the God-Striking Whip.

Chu Qianshan caught the whip with one hand and looked at her in disbelief. "You unfilial disciple! You dare strike your master!? Are you still not awake from the dream!?"

Pei Yin felt an overwhelmingly familiar aura and slowly backed away from the person in front of her. "No, you are the dream. You are the fake one."

Chu Qianshan clicked her tongue impatiently and demanded loudly, "Did you dream of Ling Qingyue again!?"

"It could only be her. Every time you dream of her, you can't tell reality from the dream. She died long ago. How long will you remain stubbornly unrepentant!"

"Shut up!" Pei Yin berated. She stared coldly at Chu Qianshan, her hand gripping the God-Striking Whip trembling. "Qingyue is not dead. She has returned, and she is right by my side!"

"Alright, alright, alright." Chu Qianshan seemed tired of arguing. She sighed helplessly and tossed out an Image-Recording Pearl. "See for yourself."

The Image-Recording Pearl projected scenes. They were all of Pei Yin's past nightmares, each one related to Ling Qingyue. And every time after breaking those nightmares, Pei Yin would be like just now, unable to distinguish reality from dream, lashing out and shouting at Chu Qianshan.

"Dreams..."

Pei Yin raised her hand to cover her head. She remembered these dreams. Shortly after Ling Qingyue's death, she often dreamt that Ling Qingyue had returned. Many times she had nearly stayed in those nightmares, and it was Chu Qianshan who had pulled her back.

"Is it another dream?" Pei Yin murmured to herself.

Ling Qingyue's revival, Linshui Town, Piaomiao Sect, Liuyun Immortal Sect, the Great Wilderness...

Could all of this be another one of her great dreams?

"Yes." Chu Qianshan looked at her with relief and pushed the teacup over.

Pei Yin looked down at the water's surface in the cup. The water reflected her eyes, lost and bewildered, with even deeper despair and sorrow.

"Master." Pei Yin looked at Chu Qianshan and smiled lightly. "I understand. Your disciple has caused you much worry."

Chu Qianshan consoled her with her gaze. "It's good you've woken up. Don't fall into those dreams again; all of that is fake."

Pei Yin nodded and suddenly asked, "Master, do you remember the Nine Yin Array Diagram? I still have some questions about that array and wish to ask for your guidance."

Chu Qianshan answered without hesitation, "In the study. I have already solved it."

As soon as the words left her mouth, a light laugh rang out, followed by the sound of a whip cracking through the air, landing on "Chu Qianshan" without warning.

"Chu Qianshan" looked stunned and then vanished into nothing under the full-force strike.

Pei Yin's expression was icy. "If that were truly a dream, how would I know that the Nine Yin Array Diagram is already broken?"

The Nine Yin Array Diagram was broken by Chu Qianshan at Piaomiao Sect, with Pei Yin right beside her at the time.

Although she saw through the illusory realm, Pei Yin's mind was still affected, and her divine sense lingered in the illusion.

She took two deep breaths, sat cross-legged on the ground, and regulated her breathing to calm down as quickly as possible.

Outside the illusory realm—

Ling Qingyue stepped into the array. Countless red threads wrapped around her, continuously pulling her toward Qiu Feng.

Qiu Feng smiled as she cried.

Everything was proceeding according to plan, yet she did not feel any satisfaction. She was so sad and so reluctant.

"Qiu Feng! Don't!"

Qiu Feng suddenly looked up and saw a distant point of light instantly arrive at the edge of the array. It was Yu Liuli!

"Liuli..." Qiu Feng's expression turned panicked. "How did you come here? Weren't you already..."

She had lit calming incense in Yu Liuli's room, adding a bit of Sang Yu Seed, enough to put Yu Liuli into a deep sleep for more than seven days. When she woke, she should have already left the Great Wilderness.

But why was she here now!? How had she followed? How had she passed through the storm? Was she hurt?

Qiu Feng's eyes urgently scanned over Yu Liuli's body until she confirmed she was unharmed. Only then did she notice a child next to her.

This child...

Qiu Feng's eyes widened. It was the dog from Ling Qingyue's side!

After setting Yu Liuli down, Pei Xi looked at the motionless Pei Yin, then walked over, grasped her wrist, and directly pulled her out of the illusory realm.

Pei Yin abruptly opened her eyes to see Pei Xi looking up at her with a smile.

She raised her hand and rubbed Pei Xi's head, praising, "Well done."

After speaking, she flashed into the array to Ling Qingyue's side.

The demonic qi within the array sensed the unfamiliar aura and attacked Pei Yin in unison.

"Qiu Feng!"

Yu Liuli, tears streaming down her face, cried out to Qiu Feng.

"I'm sorry..."

Qiu Feng dared not look at her. Taking advantage of the moment Pei Yin was entangled with the demonic qi, she controlled the red threads and violently yanked Ling Qingyue over.

The Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart must be completely reunited as one.

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