IVYSCP - Chapter 108
Chapter 108
How could these vines contain Master's sword qi?!
The question flashed through Ling Qingyue's mind in an instant.
The suddenly erupting vines were exceptionally aggressive, and the spiritual energy attached to them clearly far exceeded anything found in the Mortal Realm.
Controlling the formation, Pei Yin quickly pinpointed where the vines were drawing their spiritual energy from.
"Qingyue! It's those vine cocoons!"
Ling Qingyue's figure darted between the vine branches at extreme speed, the wooden sword in her hand swiftly cutting down the vines blocking her path. She drew near one of the vine cocoons, gathered her spiritual energy, and was about to strike with her sword when she suddenly caught sight of a jade token pressed between the tangling vines. It was the jade token of a Piaomiao Sect disciple. She pulled back the full-force strike, the tip of her sword veering aside and grazing past the vine cocoon to slash toward the side hall wall.
"Boom!"
The hall wall collapsed with a thunderous crash, revealing the side hall concealed by the vines.
Just then, Nie Wenxiao hurried over at the sound. After cultivating for the time it took to burn one stick of incense, her complexion had already greatly improved.
Ling Qingyue saw her and said, "We've likely found those children."
With that, she raised her sword and pointed toward the tightly wrapped vine cocoons. "They're inside these."
Nie Wenxiao's gaze shifted over, and she immediately frowned as she strode quickly forward.
Pei Yin raised a hand to stop her. Nie Wenxiao halted and looked at her.
Pei Yin explained calmly, "The vines here feed on their spiritual energy. Rushing forward rashly would likely be unwise."
Nie Wenxiao's expression darkened even further.
This demonic vine actually fed on spiritual energy. If these children's spiritual energy was completely drained and their meridians damaged, half their cultivation path would be ruined.
"Then how do we rescue them?" Nie Wenxiao looked at the two.
Ling Qingyue gazed thoughtfully at the hall wall she had collapsed with one sword strike and the few vine branches that had gathered around it. These few vine branches were far thinner than those elsewhere, even appearing somewhat withered. Without absorbing some spiritual energy, they would likely be no different from dead branches. Now these withered branches lingered around the collapsed wall, as if searching for something.
These vine branches carried Master's sword qi...
Ling Qingyue raised her hand. Crimson spiritual energy slowly flowed out from her fingertips, carrying the aura of her cultivation method.
The wavering, unmoored vine branches instantly found direction, their tips all darting toward Ling Qingyue in unison.
"Careful!" Nie Wenxiao cried out in warning. Before her voice fell, she saw those vine tendrils stop in front of Ling Qingyue, gathering around the strand of crimson spiritual energy in midair with intimate closeness.
Nie Wenxiao's eyes widened in surprise. "This..."
The vine branches did not absorb Ling Qingyue's spiritual energy. Instead, they encircled that strand of spiritual energy in their midst as if protecting it.
Ling Qingyue's eyes grew hot, as if she could see Master's figure reflected in these vine branches.
After nuzzling the familiar spiritual energy for a while, the vine branches actually took the initiative to unwind the vine cocoons. The vines supported the Piaomiao Sect disciples inside and gently laid them on the ground.
Nie Wenxiao rushed forward immediately to check their condition. Only after examining each one did she breathe a sigh of relief. They had merely held their breath and lost consciousness temporarily, and the spiritual energy within their bodies had not been drained dry.
Pei Yin noticed that Ling Qingyue had been staring toward the side hall and said to Nie Wenxiao, "Stay here and look after them."
Nie Wenxiao understood that they needed to investigate something and did not press further, merely nodding.
Ling Qingyue turned her head to look at the person who had already come to stand beside her. Their gazes met, and Pei Yin spoke softly, "Let's go. Let's go in and take a look."
Ling Qingyue drew a light breath. Her hand gripping the sword was trembling. She nodded in response but did not take a step forward.
Pei Yin did not urge her, patiently waiting. Her eyes lowered to Ling Qingyue's hand, and she reached out to gently wrap her hand around Ling Qingyue's wrist. The moment her palm made contact, she realized that the person whose hands were usually warm now had a body temperature even colder than her own.
Palm pressed against the inner wrist, she could feel the faint pulsing of a heartbeat.
"Pei Yin." Ling Qingyue's lashes quivered lightly. "I'm so afraid."
She did not say what she was afraid of, but Pei Yin understood what she meant. She held Ling Qingyue's wrist, pulled her close, and embraced her, her other hand stroking the back of Ling Qingyue's head as she consoled her gently, "Don't let your imagination run wild. It may not be."
Ling Qingyue reached out and grasped the fabric at Pei Yin's waist. The closeness of their divine senses brought more reassurance.
"Right, it might not be Master." Ling Qingyue murmured quietly. She withdrew slightly, switched to her other hand to hold Pei Yin's, raised her eyes to look at her, and smiled faintly. "Let's go."
Pei Yin knew she would still dwell on it in her heart, so she tightened her grip on Ling Qingyue's hand and pressed her body closer as well.
Stepping into the side hall, the aura Ling Qingyue sensed became even more distinct. The vines in the side hall were slowly retreating. Before long, the side hall lay fully exposed before her eyes. Ling Qingyue's gaze swept over every corner of the side hall. Though fallen into decay, one could still tell that this side hall had once been deeply cherished. Its furnishings were in no way inferior to those of some main halls.
The side hall had originally contained a lotus pond, but it was now completely dry. The lotus flowers within had long since mingled with the silt at the bottom, cracking into deep furrows with the passage of time.
On the other side of the lotus pond stood a massive withered ginkgo tree. Its trunk looked as if it would crumble at a touch, its thick roots exposed above ground in a similarly decayed state. Several vine tendrils wound around it, unwilling to leave.
Ling Qingyue walked over and looked up.
Amid the vine-entangled branches, there seemed to be a strip of cloth tied there. Ling Qingyue's sharp eyes noticed that there appeared to be writing on it.
She released a thread of spiritual energy and retrieved the cloth strip from among the vine tendrils. At first, when the tendrils sensed something approaching, they immediately tightened. Then they realized it was a familiar aura and relaxed again.
Ling Qingyue was now certain in her heart: these few vine tendrils were definitely connected to her master.
Taking the cloth strip, Ling Qingyue saw the writing on it and pressed her lips together.
It was Master's and Shi Yanchun's.
In the next instant, Ling Qingyue clenched the cloth strip and frowned. Then she attempted to infuse spiritual energy into it. Before her eyes, the originally dull, dusty cloth strip transformed into a pearl in her hand. The pearl's entire surface glowed with a faint, deep blue light, within which spiritual energy faintly circulated.
After that, Ling Qingyue could distinctly feel the familiar aura of spiritual energy emanating from within the pearl.
This was an image-recording pearl. It only required a tiny amount of spiritual energy to maintain its function and could record images within a certain range. Higher-grade image-recording pearls could even be set to record a specific person.
What had been drawing her here all along was this image-recording pearl.
She could not tell whether what she felt in her heart was relief or disappointment, but Ling Qingyue did, genuinely and truly, let out a breath of relief.
She had imagined the worst possibility was finding traces of her master here. But that would have meant her master's situation was extremely dire. Lou Wudu could make those Immortal Realm cultivators kneel toward the direction of Yuelou to atone for their sins, so how would she treat her master?
Ling Qingyue examined the image-recording pearl in her hand and judged its grade to be quite high. Otherwise, it would not have been able to alter its appearance and conceal itself.
High-grade image-recording pearls generally had restrictions placed on them, but this one had none, almost as if meant to be accessible for someone to view.
Ling Qingyue moved closer to Pei Yin's side, then activated the image-recording pearl with her spiritual energy.
A ripple of spiritual energy spread like rings on a water's surface, passing in an instant. Before Ling Qingyue's eyes appeared the Yuelou Country of three or four hundred years ago, still whole and intact.
This image-recording pearl could actually achieve an effect of immersing the viewer directly into what had once been recorded.
Without a doubt, this image-recording pearl had been left behind by her master.
If it truly had only been a matter of using Shi Yanchun to achieve the Emotionless Path, the effort would have been far too meticulous. An image-recording pearl of this grade was something even money could not always buy in the Immortal Realm.
"Big Sister! Big Sister is coming back!"
A clear female voice brimmed with joy. Ling Qingyue raised her eyes and saw an elegant, fine-featured face. The figure was still dressed in an exquisite long robe, black and crimson hues displaying utmost nobility. Embroidered on the robe in gold and silver thread was a half-moon crest, the Yuelou clan's crest.
This was Shi Yanchun.
Ling Qingyue watched Shi Yanchun run toward her, pass directly through both her and Pei Yin, and head out joyfully. Behind her, two palace maids followed, calling out in a fluster, "Your Highness! The Sovereign still awaits you in the front hall, Your Highness!"
The reply that answered them was a cheerful, willful voice: "Big Sister is coming back! I'm going to meet Big Sister!"
The image-recording pearl had clearly recorded Shi Yanchun. Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin's gazes shifted along with Shi Yanchun's movements.
Ling Qingyue was somewhat puzzled. "At this time, Master still wasn't at Yuelou, right?"
Pei Yin explained softly, "This image-recording pearl should also contain memories from both of them."
Ling Qingyue nodded.
Shi Yanchun arrived at a hillside outside the city gates of Yuelou, where the open space allowed her to see farther.
Shi Yanchun was full of anticipation, so excited that she talked to herself: "Will Big Sister fly through the sky like the immortals in the books? Will she glow?"
From dawn until darkness, the expectant light in Shi Yanchun's eyes slowly dimmed. She crouched down and, out of boredom, started grabbing at the grass beside her to play with it.
Behind her, two rows of guards stood dutifully at their posts. Shi Yanchun's trusted personal attendant, seeing that the night had grown late, stepped forward to advise, "Your Highness, the night is cold. Please return. We will wait here for Her Highness the Eldest Princess."
"No." Shi Yanchun was stubborn. "When Big Sister returns, the first person she sees must be me."
They waited a while longer. The attendant draped an outer robe over Shi Yanchun's shoulders, but it still could not withstand the night's cold. Shi Yanchun's fair face grew faintly blue.
She looked at the attendants and guards who had waited here with her, her brow furrowing, as if she was hesitating whether to go back.
Just then, a faint, soft murmur sounded in the silent night.
Shi Yanchun was startled, then broke into a smile: "Big Sister is back!"
"Your Highness!"
When the attendants and guards caught up, Shi Yanchun was being grabbed by the hem of her clothes by a person covered in blood. The group turned pale with fright, vying with each other to rush forward and rescue their princess.
Shi Yanchun stared fixedly at the person at her feet, unblinking.
The person on the ground was also looking at her. Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Ling Qingyue crouched nearby, raising her head to look at Shi Yanchun, then lowering it again to look at her master.
So this was their first meeting.
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