Chapter 82
“The other shore flower? Isn’t that the demonic flower that blooms by the River of Forgetfulness, where the three realms intersect?” Yu Ling’er exclaimed.
The other shore flower bloomed at the crossroads connecting the underworld, the mortal realm, and the heavens. Its fragrance was said to be intoxicating, erasing all pain and sorrow, leading souls to a blissful oblivion.
Why would Wei Jie compare the scent of magnolias to that of a demonic flower?
Xiao Xiao’s voice was grave. “Perhaps their scents are similar. The flowers we smelled earlier were definitely magnolias. But this scent… Ling’er, don’t you feel less afraid of the dark now?”
Yu Ling’er had been clinging to her arm, terrified, but since inhaling the fragrance, she had unconsciously let go, even walking ahead of her now, eager to cross the river and reach those flowers.
Yu Ling’er, convinced Xiao Xiao was teasing her, chuckled. “You’re trying to scare me again, silly! If those are other shore flowers, then we must be by the River of Forgetfulness…”
Her laughter died down as she realized Xiao Xiao was serious.
She shivered, pointing at the ferryman. “If this is the underworld, how can there be people here?”
Xiao Xiao stared at the shadowy figure standing on the boat. “Look closely. Is he… human?”
Yu Ling’er turned, her gaze fixed on the ferryman, who remained hidden beneath his wide straw hat and cloak. And then she saw it – the space beneath his cloak… was empty!
The shadow had no legs. It hovered in the air, its skeletal hands, with their long, sharp nails, gripping the oar, churning the water.
Fish and shrimp leaped from the water, startled by the oar’s movements.
Yu Ling’er had seen the unusually large fish and shrimp Wei Jie brought back – creatures that only existed in the River of Forgetfulness, where it bordered the mortal realm, their bodies imbued with yin energy…
She realized, with a jolt of terror, that she had nearly stepped onto that boat.
As a fox demon, she knew about the River of Forgetfulness and the underworld.
That boat ferried souls to the other side. If a living person boarded it, their body and soul would separate the moment their foot touched the deck. Their body, sinking through the bottomless boat, would become food for the creatures of the River of Forgetfulness, while their soul would be transported to the other shore.
She had nearly died!
But how had they ended up in the underworld? They had been heading towards Luoyi City.
How had they entered? Had the Wei family, the guardians of the underworld, not noticed their presence?
Xiao Xiao had also been about to board the boat. If the demonic bead hadn’t spoken up, they would both be doomed.
Wei Jie had told her that living beings, with their strong yang energy, couldn’t enter the underworld. But if someone inhaled the fragrance of the other shore flower, their yang energy would be suppressed, their mind weakened, allowing the demonic flower to guide them into the underworld.
This was how the Wei family entered and exited the underworld, but they used ancestral silver artifacts to protect their souls from being lost in the darkness.
That was why Wei Jie hated the scent of magnolias, their fragrance resembling that of the demonic flower.
He saw it as an omen of death, even disliking Yu Ling’er’s sachet when it contained similar scents.
And now, Xiao Xiao realized that Ye Yi, with his field of magnolias, his claims of honoring his deceased wife… he had been subtly exposing them to the scent of the other shore flower, hidden amongst the magnolias.
He had even gifted Yu Ling’er a pouch of those deathly petals.
That cunning man… his reputation as a debauched scoundrel had been a perfect disguise. He was far more dangerous than he appeared.
His gentle voice, his soothing words… even Xiao Xiao had been lulled into a false sense of security, falling prey to his carefully laid trap.
The increasing darkness wasn’t due to the setting sun. They had been led across the boundary between the living and the dead, lured into the underworld by the demonic flower’s fragrance.
The scent clinging to them masked their life force, preventing the Wei family from detecting their intrusion.
The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. That gentle, elegant Ye Yi… if he had done this intentionally, how deep did his cruelty run?
Or was he merely a pawn, manipulated by the fake Prince Changshan?
If it was the former… he was a true master of deception, a killer who didn’t need weapons.
Xiao Xiao chanted a spell, summoning a ball of fire in her palm, illuminating their surroundings.
Since the five phoenixes had entered her body, she had become adept at manipulating fire.
But before the flames could even flicker, they died out.
The yin energy here was too strong, suppressing even fire. Living beings couldn’t stay in the underworld for long. The overwhelming yin energy would eventually extinguish their life force…
Xiao Xiao, with her own strong yin energy and the demonic bead within her, could withstand it better than most. But Yu Ling’er was starting to weaken, her body trembling.
She was carrying the Fox Tribe’s spirit stone, but in this realm, the stone, instead of offering protection, was draining her yang energy to preserve its own power. She wouldn’t last much longer.
Xiao Xiao, her heart pounding, knew they had to escape. But she couldn’t find a way out, and she couldn’t let Yu Ling’er suffer…
“Ling’er, give me the spirit stone,” she said, her voice firm.
Yu Ling’er shook her head frantically. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Xiao Xiao. But giving her the stone now… wouldn’t that be a death sentence?
She could feel the stone sucking away her life force. Xiao Xiao wouldn’t be spared. She only hoped that Xiao Xiao could carry her body out of this place, return it to her people, ensuring the Fox Tribe’s spirit stone would be passed on.
Tears streamed down her face.
She was so young… and she was going to die. If she had known, she wouldn’t have argued with Tang Youshu.
She would have told him that he was the first man who had truly captured her heart…
Xiao Xiao didn’t have the patience for a tearful farewell. She channeled her energy, protecting Yu Ling’er’s core, and swiftly removed the spirit stone.
She placed it on her own navel, and the demonic bead within her erupted in fury. “You foolish girl! You reckless idiot! You take everything upon yourself! Five birds weren’t enough? Now you’re adding a spirit stone to the mix! Have you lost your mind?! I must have done something terrible in a past life to be stuck with you!”
“My apologies,” Xiao Xiao said, not sounding particularly sincere. “It’s not exactly a spacious suite, is it? But if you don’t want us to die here, you better help me figure out how to escape this place.”
She was certain the demonic bead had been to the underworld with Wei Jie. It had been present during the chaos that had unfolded here.
The demonic bead, after a moment of silence, as if weighing its options, spoke. The spirit stone, the moment it entered her body, had begun to greedily devour her yang energy, like a gluttonous beast. This was unsettling for the bead, accustomed to this realm.
If it lost its host and was left behind in the underworld, escape would be difficult.
“There are no doors in the underworld,” it said, its voice grudging. “Those are mortal concepts. Only those whose fate has dwindled or whose lifespan has ended arrive at the gates of the underworld. But in the mortal realm, where yin energy gathers, passage between the realms is easier. Qilao Mountain, a battleground for generations, where countless lives have been lost, where corpses once piled high… that is what mortals call the entrance to the underworld. If you want to escape, you need to find a weak point in the barrier on Qilao Mountain.”
Xiao Xiao, enduring the spirit stone’s draining effect, asked how they could find it quickly.
“You possess the Yin-Yang Eyes,” the demonic bead said. “Resist the allure of the other shore flower, calm your mind, and you will see the flow of yin and yang energy in this realm. Whether you can find it or not depends on your understanding.”
Xiao Xiao tried to focus, to see beyond the darkness.
But the fragrance of the other shore flower seemed to seep into her mind, drawing her towards the flowers across the river. She found herself wandering back to the riverbank several times.
Remembering the demonic bead’s words, she took out a handkerchief and covered her nose and mouth. She couldn’t breathe, but it blocked out the flower’s intoxicating scent.
And then she saw it – the intricate flow of yin and yang energy.
Two streams of energy, different in color, intertwined in the darkness. Xiao Xiao, focusing, could sense the presence of yang energy, flowing from the northeast.
She grabbed Yu Ling’er’s hand and pulled her in that direction…
Meanwhile, in a Luoyi City inn, Wei Jie and Tang Youshu, master and disciple, were settling in.
After his outburst, his rampage through the forest, Wei Jie had decided to stay at the same inn Xiao Xiao had stayed at.
Tang Youshu couldn’t understand his master’s actions. He had suddenly decided to accept those Four Great Sects disciples he had previously deemed unworthy.
And out of all the inns in Luoyi City, he had chosen this one, the one Xiao Xiao had stayed at. And out of all the rooms, he had chosen hers.
Xiao Xiao had just checked out. According to the innkeeper, the bedding hadn’t even been changed. Wei Jie had waved it off, claiming he didn’t mind, and moved right in…
Tang Youshu was starting to fear his own master.
With his divine power restored, Wei Jie should have reverted to his usual personality – cold and distant, but still a gentleman. He wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy towards his disciples, but he was a dedicated teacher.
But now… his purple eyes were constantly clouded, his moods unpredictable. He was like the Wei Jie possessed by his demonic nature.
Tang Youshu had watched those new disciples trying to curry favor with him, especially Ling Zhishan, who seemed determined to engage him in conversation.
Several times, Wei Jie’s fingers had brushed against the hilt of the Heaven-Punishing Sword.
Tang Youshu shuddered, fearing that his master, losing his patience, would lash out, as he had done in the past, leaving a trail of blood and corpses in his wake.
He sighed in relief when Wei Jie finally retreated to his room.
Lately, he had been thinking about reversing time again. Perhaps restoring his master’s divine power had been a mistake. This volatile, almost demonic Wei Jie… if only Xiao Xiao were here… would his master be more stable?
He glanced at the darkened room, assuming Wei Jie was meditating, taking advantage of the moonlight.
But inside that room, Wei Jie, his robes discarded, his chest bare, sat on the bed, then slowly lay down on the rumpled sheets…
The sheets were cold, devoid of her warmth, but as he buried his face in the pillow, he caught a faint trace of her scent.
He closed his eyes, surrendering to the fleeting sweetness, imagining her, her clothes damp, lying beside him…
A sharp pain pierced his head, shattering the illusion.
He ripped the pillow in half, a wave of emptiness washing over him as feathers scattered across the room…
His eyes, darker than ever, closed, his lips parting, then closing again. Finally, in the cold silence, he whispered her name. “Xiao… Xiao…”
He reached out, wanting to grasp something, anything. But his fingers closed around empty air, moonlight filtering through the gaps.
He closed his eyes, trying to sense her presence through the demonic bead within her.
It had always been so easy. When her emotions were heightened, he could even feel her joy and sorrow.
But now… he searched, but found nothing.
Cui Xiao Xiao… it was as if she had vanished from existence!
He sat up abruptly, focusing his energy, searching again. Nothing. Her aura, once so familiar, was gone…
How was this possible?
Panic surged through him, a splitting headache accompanying it. He ignored the pain, his mind fixated on one thought – he had… lost control of something precious…
When she had left Guishi Cliff, he had remained calm. He had even managed to maintain his composure during those days when he couldn’t see her.
But it had all been based on one crucial factor – he had always known where she was, who she was with, what she was doing, what she was feeling!
As long as she was somewhere out of sight, cultivating, not interfering with his plans… that had been the ideal scenario.
But whenever she did something unexpected, that reckless girl, it disrupted his peace, hindering his progress towards ascension.
Like her ridiculous idea of establishing a Harmony Sect! Changing the name didn’t make it any less absurd!
Why else would those Four Great Sects traitors flock to her like wolves, drooling over a piece of meat?
There had been a moment, a fleeting urge, to simply eliminate those lecherous fools with his sword.
But he had restrained himself, accepting them as his own disciples, hoping it would encourage her to focus on her cultivation.
And now… he couldn’t find her!
The realization that she was beyond his grasp ignited a firestorm of anxiety within him.
He couldn’t wait another moment. He had to find her!
Just then, a voice called out from below. “Is Wei Jie of Guishi Cliff present? Prince Changshan, having heard of your arrival, has sent me to invite you to his manor!”
As if anticipating his refusal, the messenger added, “Prince Changshan said that if you are searching for a certain someone, a visit to his manor might yield unexpected results… Ah!”
Before he could finish, a cold hand clamped around his throat. A tall, menacing figure towered over him, his voice a low growl. “Who is this someone? Tell me again!”
The messenger, terrified, choked out, “I… I don’t know! Please, ask the prince yourself…”
His words were cut short as the figure vanished. A scholar, dressed in white, carrying a bamboo basket, leaped from the second floor, chasing after him, calling out, “Master, wait!”
His voice echoed through the night, reaching far and wide, but not the depths of the underworld.
Xiao Xiao, having held her breath for as long as she could, finally removed the handkerchief from her face. Thankfully, her nascent Golden Core allowed her to circulate her energy and hold her breath for an hour. Otherwise, she would have suffocated.
They moved swiftly, Yu Ling’er, in her fox form, carrying Xiao Xiao on her back.
Following the faint trail of yang energy, they wandered through the darkness for what felt like an eternity, finally reaching a luminous opening.
The scent of the other shore flower was gone.
Yu Ling’er sighed in relief. “I can’t smell those flowers anymore. Are we escaping?”
Xiao Xiao, observing the yang energy flowing from the opening, nodded. “This must be the exit.”
They approached the opening, but an invisible force pushed them back.
Yu Ling’er landed hard, crying out in pain. “What was that? Why can’t we leave?”
Xiao Xiao reached out, her hand bouncing back.
She stared at the opening, her voice tense. “Someone has sealed it from the other side.”
Yu Ling’er’s eyes widened in alarm. “What do we do? Are we trapped?”
Xiao Xiao knew that whoever had lured them here wouldn’t want them to escape. They had anticipated their attempt, sealing the only way out.
But her worry went beyond their own predicament.
This exit was located on the Wei family’s territory, Qilao Mountain. The Wei family wouldn’t seal the entrance to the underworld without a reason.
Had someone taken control of them? The memory of their tragic fate in her past life surfaced, sending a chill down her spine.
She turned, her gaze sweeping over their surroundings, and noticed a pool of water forming in the opposite direction of the sealed exit. Droplets of water, materializing out of thin air, were slowly filling the depression in the ground.
As they approached, they realized the surface of the water was like a mirror, reflecting images.
Yu Ling’er gasped, staring at the reflection of Tang Youshu, his face streaked with tears. “What’s wrong with him? Why is he crying so hard?”
The reflection showed him standing in Prince Can’s mansion.
He scattered a handful of ashes, his voice choked with emotion. “How could this happen? They’re truly gone… Even my soul-summoning technique can’t find them…”
Beside him stood Wei Jie, tall and imposing, his expression cold and unreadable, like a statue carved from ice.
Across from them stood a man in fine robes, his face covered in bandages. He spoke in Prince Can’s voice, a cruel smile twisting his lips. “Those two silly girls… so easily fooled. They followed the scent of those flowers straight into the underworld. By now, they’ve probably boarded the ferry of the dead, their bodies sinking into the River of Forgetfulness, feeding the fish and shrimp. What a shame. Even if Tang Youshu could summon their souls, he can’t retrieve their bodies. My condolences. Try not to grieve too much.”
It seemed the master and disciple had discovered the fake Prince Changshan and confronted him.
And the imposter had taken this opportunity to reveal their fate.
Xiao Xiao’s heart sank.
She remembered Wei Jie mentioning that when someone died and entered the underworld, if their loved ones in the mortal realm grieved deeply, their tears of sorrow would form a mirror in the underworld, allowing the deceased to see them one last time.
After that final glimpse, their bond would be severed, separated by the veil between life and death, never to meet again.
Based on their conversation, it was this fake Prince Changshan who had orchestrated their entrapment.
And Tang Youshu and Wei Jie had just learned about it. Tang Youshu, using the Lingshan Talisman Sect’s soul-summoning technique, had confirmed their deaths. His grief, his tears, unable to find them, had manifested as this mirror in the underworld, granting them this final vision…
Tang Youshu might have deceived Cui Xiao Xiao and cruelly abandoned Yu Ling’er, but his tears were genuine. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have formed this mirror.
But this belated affection was worthless now. They were separated by the veil of death, their paths forever diverging.
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