IVYSCP - Chapter 106
Chapter 106
"Uncertain if it would take her life, but certainly connected to her somehow."
Pei Yin lifted a hand and touched Ling Qingyue's cheek. The half of the face covered in Demonic Markings burned hotter than the rest. When her fingertips pressed against it, she could still feel the markings writhing faintly beneath them.
The last time she had seen Qiu Feng, at Lingxu Immortal Palace, Qiu Feng's face had been clear of Demonic Markings. They had only been forced to the surface when her identity was finally exposed. But now, Qiu Feng was covered in them.
If this was the price for successfully transcending the tribulation, was it worth it?
Would Ling Qingyue end up the same way? Ling Qingyue would not be happy seeing herself like that.
Her eyes flickered faintly. Pei Yin lowered her head and pressed her lips to Ling Qingyue's cheek, one kiss after another, as though she meant to cover every inch of that half of her face.
Ling Qingyue had no idea why Pei Yin had suddenly started kissing her. She blinked at her, confusion clear in her gaze.
The places Pei Yin had kissed tingled, a faint numbness spreading across her skin. Whether it was an illusion or not, Ling Qingyue felt those Demonic Markings stir faintly. Deep inside her, an impulse surged up again beyond her control.
It was different from the impulse she had felt toward Qiu Feng, the urge to devour and consume her. What she felt right now, facing Pei Yin, was an undeniable, unspoken desire.
She wanted to devour Pei Yin.
Ling Qingyue's gaze grew hotter and hotter. Just as she was about to lose control, lifting her hand to pull Pei Yin closer and kiss her, Pei Yin straightened up and drew back. Ling Qingyue's mind snapped back into clarity.
The demon race had no understanding of restraint. Their emotions had always been fierce and consuming. She loved Pei Yin, so whenever Pei Yin drew close to her, desire would rise. That also meant the demon nature inside her was growing more and more apparent.
Pei Yin's hand brushed softly against her cheek. Her voice was gentle. "No matter what, I will stay with you."
Whether human or demon, as long as it was Ling Qingyue, nothing else mattered to her.
Ling Qingyue drew a deep breath, then planted her palm squarely against Pei Yin's face and pushed her away.
Pei Yin: "?"
Her beautiful eyes blinked in confusion between Ling Qingyue's fingers.
Ling Qingyue's voice dropped low, the tips of her ears flushing red. "Don't get too close to me. I can't hold back."
"Hold back what?"
Ling Qingyue had just begun to explain when she saw a certain someone's eyes glinting with laughter.
Right. Pei Yin was so clever, her mind full of schemes. She could guess that the one pulling the strings was Yue Shouming. How could she not know that the demon race was ruled by desire?
So, she was doing this on purpose.
Ling Qingyue raised a hand and thumped her lightly, neither too hard nor too soft. "Shameless."
Pei Yin kissed her palm, then pulled the hand away from her face. She leaned in close to Ling Qingyue and nuzzled the tip of her nose. Her voice was a lure. "With me, you don't need to hold back."
The fact that Ling Qingyue could not hold back toward her delighted Pei Yin beyond words. She even wanted Ling Qingyue to be more reckless, more brazen with her.
Ling Qingyue's eyes slowly widened. She stared at Pei Yin with an odd expression, then examined her face from side to side to see if Demonic Markings had sprouted there too.
Pei Yin asked, "What are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at..." Ling Qingyue pinched her cheek. It was soft and cool. "These hundred years have really thickened the Immortal Venerable's skin. You'll say anything now."
Pei Yin smiled at her, took Ling Qingyue's other hand, and placed it on her own face as well. "Then touch carefully. See how much thicker it's gotten."
Ling Qingyue was dumbstruck.
Watching Ling Qingyue stare at her in stunned silence, the smile on Pei Yin's face slowly faded. She released Ling Qingyue's hands, and the curve on her lips returned to its usual faint, reserved smile.
Ling Qingyue blinked. She felt the shift in Pei Yin's mood acutely.
She reached out and touched the corner of Pei Yin's mouth, lifting the smile there a little higher. "Why did the laughter stop? That smile just now was beautiful."
Pei Yin's fine lashes lowered, casting a ring of shadow beneath her eyes. She pursed her lips. "Qingyue, do you..."
Pei Yin drew a soft breath and tightened her hands. She forced the rest of the question out. "Do you prefer Pei Si a little more?"
After all, Pei Si was gentle and proper. Pei Si would not be so thick-skinned as to tell her she did not need to hold back.
Ling Qingyue let out a laugh. She cupped Pei Yin's face and lifted her head so Pei Yin had to look at her. In those clear, glasslike eyes, Pei Yin saw grievance, loss, and a barely perceptible trace of hope.
"Pei Yin, are you jealous of yourself?"
Pei Yin's expression stiffened. "No."
Ling Qingyue poked her cheek and teased her. "No? Listen to what you just asked. What do you mean, do I prefer Pei Si more? Is Pei Si not you? Is she some other person? Do you want me to love someone else?"
Pei Yin answered without a moment's pause. "No!"
Ling Qingyue wrapped her arms around Pei Yin's neck and buried her face in the curve of her shoulder, nuzzling softly. "If I must say, I love the Pei Yin who loves me. Whatever you are, I love it all."
The corners of Pei Yin's lips lifted. She held Ling Qingyue's waist. "Mm. I love you."
Ling Qingyue felt the tips of her ears burn at those words and buried herself even deeper.
"Liuli... Liuli..."
The curtains stirred in the wind. A hand covered in Demonic Markings rested on the edge of the bed. Qiu Feng's voice came in broken, panting fragments.
Yu Liuli looked down at the person lost in muddled desire. The back of her hand was drawn taut, the sinews and bones forming elegant, beautiful lines. A clear trace of moisture lingered between her knuckles.
"Ah Qiu." Yu Liuli leaned down and kissed her face. "Will you deceive me?"
Qiu Feng was being carried higher and higher by the surging, back-and-forth waves. She did not clearly hear the question, only answered instinctively. "I won't, mm... I won't."
Yu Liuli did not know why, but the question Ling Qingyue had once asked her suddenly surfaced in her mind. An inexplicable panic seized her heart. She wanted to cling tightly to Qiu Feng.
"Ah Qiu, stay with me for a few days, alright? You haven't been spending proper time with me lately. I don't need so many Spirit Stones. I only want you." Yu Liuli kissed her way to Qiu Feng's ear, her breaths unsteady as she spoke.
Qiu Feng reached out and stroked Yu Liuli's smooth back. When she had finally caught her breath, she closed her eyes to hide the sting of tears and smiled as she nodded. "Alright. I'll stay with you."
Yu Liuli placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her over. She lowered her head and kissed the back of Qiu Feng's shoulder. Her other hand wandered below.
Qiu Feng's whole body was scorching, her pupils a deep crimson. She felt as if she were drowning in a sea of desire. Demonic Markings coiled around her, creeping outward from the center of her chest one by one. They tugged at the half of her heart that was still beating.
"Liuli." Qiu Feng called her name, her voice thick with tears.
Yu Liuli kissed the side of her face and asked softly, "Am I being too rough?"
Qiu Feng shook her head, but the tears would not stop. She turned toward Yu Liuli and sought her lips. "Harder... I want it harder."
She wanted to feel Yu Liuli completely, without reservation.
"Alright."
Yu Liuli knew that the demon race was ruled by desire. She and Qiu Feng had always been direct in this matter. Whatever Qiu Feng wanted, she would give her.
Understanding that Qiu Feng wanted it fiercer this time, Yu Liuli bit down on Qiu Feng's shoulder, then traced kisses up along the arching line of neck and shoulder. "Ah Qiu, you're so passionate tonight. You're holding onto me and won't let go."
Qiu Feng's calves trembled faintly. A moan she could not suppress escaped her throat. She sobbed and hummed, "Liuli, I love you. I want to be with you forever. I don't want to leave you."
"We will never leave each other." Yu Liuli kissed away her tears. On the tip of her tongue, she tasted bitterness.
From the corner of her eye, Qiu Feng saw the first light of dawn outside the window. The reluctance in her heart surged up beyond her control. She turned and pulled Yu Liuli close. "Liuli, I want more."
Yu Liuli wanted to say something, but Qiu Feng kissed her and tangled her up without any room for resistance. She set aside the thoughts in her mind and slid her hand to Qiu Feng's waist.
Ling Qingyue did not see Yu Liuli or Qiu Feng the entire day. She very much wanted to ask Qiu Feng about the matter of tribulation transcendence, but the two never appeared. Coincidentally, a message from Nie Wenxiao arrived, so she and Pei Yin stayed in their room to communicate with Nie Wenxiao.
Nie Wenxiao had already located the ruins of Yuelou Country.
A jade token hovered in midair. Nie Wenxiao's voice came through, sounding somewhat weak. "Yuelou Country has been deeply concealed. It's surrounded by a sentient vine. There are also additional array formations and restrictions in place. It took some effort just to get in."
Ling Qingyue asked, "And those children? Have you found them?"
Nie Wenxiao's voice was heavy with guilt. "Not yet. Since I'm the one who sent them here, I will definitely bring them back."
"You alone there would have some difficulty." Pei Yin tapped the tabletop with her fingertip. "I'll transmit an array formation to you. With the two arrays linked, Qingyue and I will be able to project a portion of our divine sense to your side for a short time. The only drawback is that it consumes a great deal of Spiritual Energy."
Nie Wenxiao considered it and agreed. "I'll find a safe place."
As she spoke, Nie Wenxiao was swinging her blade to sever the vine before her. There were cuts of varying severity all across her face and body.
The vines blotted out the sun. Carrying a spirit lamp, Nie Wenxiao found a spot where the vines had thinned out. She swept her blade through, and flames held back the vines crawling after her, temporarily isolating a patch of open ground.
After infusing Spiritual Energy into the jade token, a stream of pale golden energy emerged from the token. In the blink of an eye, a complex array formation materialized. The formation ceaselessly drew upon Nie Wenxiao's Spiritual Energy, and her face quickly drained of color.
Just as her Spiritual Energy was about to run dry, a hand pressed against Nie Wenxiao's shoulder and channeled energy into her. Ling Qingyue's form materialized behind her. Golden light scattered in all directions, maintaining the array's operation.
Pei Yin withdrew her hand and surveyed the ruined country before her.
Ling Qingyue gave Nie Wenxiao Spirit Stones to recover her Spiritual Energy, then lifted her hand to examine the golden thread wrapped around her wrist. The other end of the thread was tied to Pei Yin's wrist.
"This really is useful."
Her soul could not leave her body, and her divine sense could not stray too far from it either. Pei Yin had used Spiritual Energy to weave this thread and tether her. That way, her divine sense could follow Pei Yin's projected divine sense away from their location.
The only catch was that her divine sense could not stray too far from Pei Yin's divine sense.
"Stay here and recover. Qingyue and I will look around first. Once you've recovered, come find us."
Pei Yin left a strand of energy with Nie Wenxiao.
Ling Qingyue looked at the vines, which were squirming and crawling in every direction, entwined with coils of black qi. Her brow furrowed. "These... vines. They're so familiar."
Pei Yin studied them and nodded. "Indeed. They're somewhat similar to the ones in Liu Qingtang's Spiritual Platform."
Liu Qingtang had been afflicted with Gu Techniques. The vines that imprisoned her soul within her Spiritual Platform were refined Gu Vines.
"No." Ling Qingyue's expression grew pensive. "I think the vines here are more like... Yue Teng."
"That little vine person?"
"Mm."
Yue Teng's vines were distinctive. Their branches bore bands of dark blue rings. Among the vines surrounding Yuelou Country, some carried those same rings.
This was no coincidence.
A thousand li away, in the Demon Palace of Wuding City, Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin turned to look at each other at the same time.
Using a linked double array to transfer divine sense across a thousand li was already an immense exertion of spirit and energy. Their true bodies were currently inside the array as well. There was no way for them to return to Great Sorrow Valley to investigate further.
But there was one person who might know something.
"Yu Ting." Ling Qingyue used Spiritual Energy to send her voice across to a side hall on the other side.
Moments later, Yu Ting arrived outside their courtyard. She saw the barrier and restrictions openly displayed on the door and did not take another step forward.
Sensing Yu Ting's presence, Ling Qingyue asked, "How much do you know about Yue Teng?"
"That vine." Yu Ting's voice drifted into the room. "Without root, without origin. She stands beyond the Three Realms."
Ling Qingyue furrowed her brow.
Vines grew from heaven and earth. How could one be rootless?
Yu Ting's voice came again.
"You've already met her. And you know she was burned to death once."
"The Hidden Moon Lord used the Heavenly Divination Art to protect a remnant of her soul and keep it from scattering, shielding her from the Heavenly Dao's restrictions. If her remnant soul recovered enough and found her root, she could have been reborn. Unfortunately..."
"Her root was ripped out."
Yu Ting paused, then laughed softly. "Yue Teng was born in the Great Wilderness, a place barren of Spiritual Qi. And yet she still gave rise to spiritual awareness. She must have been a rare spiritual treasure of heaven and earth. Outside the Great Wilderness, she would have been a priceless treasure fought over by everyone. Who wouldn't want her?"
No response came from the room. Yu Ting lowered her eyes, turned, and walked away. She had said enough, and clearly at that.
Ling Qingyue had heard Yu Ting's words. She looked at the vines of Yuelou Country again. The certainty settled in her chest.
Lou Wudu had ripped out Yue Teng's root and transplanted it to Yuelou. A vine that could survive in the Great Wilderness, barren of Spiritual Qi as it was, could certainly survive in the Mortal Realm. Moreover, it was a vine without its own consciousness, without a soul. It was even easier to control.
Lou Wudu had refined Yue Teng's root into a Gu Vine.
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