Ye Liyuan suppressed the surging longing in her heart, trying to calm her mind and continue her cultivation. She had to break through the barrier to the Void Refining realm and rescue her Dao Companion from that Female Demon as soon as possible.
But every time she managed to immerse her consciousness, just as she was on the verge of some new insight, phantom sounds would echo in her ears.
She would hear Ah Han tenderly calling her name.
Then, a sudden burst of moist, hot, and sticky gasps would follow.
The wanton giggles of other women mingled within, along with Ah Han's low gasps.
It was as if... as if Ah Han was with other women behind her back, and she was hearing everything...
"This is all the work of my Heart Demon! Do not interfere!"
Ye Liyuan let out a sharp cry, her hands forming a seal as she recited the Heart Scripture, forcing her consciousness to sink deeper into meditation.
Gradually, the decadent sounds of Ah Han and the other women began to fade.
Just as Ye Liyuan thought she could finally cultivate in peace...
"Ye Liyuan!"
A blood-curdling shriek exploded in her ears.
She snapped her eyes open to see a girl with a youthful face standing before her.
It was Fan Lingling... a younger Fan Lingling.
Ye Liyuan stared at the "Fan Lingling" before her, whose face was twisted with a bone-deep hatred that erupted from her eyes. She was stunned speechless.
"You bitch! How is it fair that Brother Pei was snatched away by that villain, his fate unknown, while you get to be here, cultivating safe and sound?!"
"You should go die, too—"
"Fan Lingling's" voice was choked with sobs, yet it was utterly malicious.
And behind "Fan Lingling," more figures materialized out of thin air.
Ye Liyuan recognized every one of them. It seemed they were all people she and Ah Han had known in their youth, but now, their faces were twisted with a deadly malice as they stared at her.
A chill shot up from the soles of her feet and up her spine, making Ye Liyuan's breath catch in her throat.
As she watched this scene, which looked like ghouls coming to claim her life, her heart hammered in her chest. She could only feel an icy chill freezing her body solid.
At that very critical moment—
SHIIING!
The clear ring of a sword cut through the dead silence.
The Silent Sword leaped from its sheath into the air, its blade glowing with a halo like that of Moonlight.
Ye Liyuan opened her eyes. Wiping the sweat from her fair neck, she realized sunlight was streaming in through the window.
It was already morning.
"Thank you, Silent Sword..."
Ye Liyuan recalled the nightmare, and her heart pounded as she swallowed hard.
She gently caressed the Silent Sword's cool blade, grateful in her heart that even though Ah Han wasn't physically present, he was still protecting her in another way.
"But... this is the second time I've dreamt of them, looking like wraiths."
Ye Liyuan murmured, her voice tinged with melancholy.
The figures of those wraiths were like a great boulder blocking a river, obstructing her path of cultivation.
Every time she was on the verge of making a breakthrough to the Void Refining realm, they would appear to obstruct her.
This left Ye Liyuan both worried and angry.
She didn't even understand why...
'Perhaps I should go ask Senior Sister for guidance.'
Having made up her mind, Ye Liyuan didn't hesitate. She immediately rose, washed up quickly, and flew toward Dan Yun Pavilion.
...
「In Dan Yun Pavilion.」
Chen Sixuan gently pushed open Lu Ruoxi's door. The moment her fingertips touched the wood, a thick stench of alcohol assaulted her, making her frown slightly.
The room was as dark as night. The heavy curtains were drawn tight, not allowing even a sliver of daylight to penetrate.
She lowered her gaze and sighed internally.
'Just as I thought. Ever since Junior Martial Uncle Pei was abducted by that mysterious powerhouse, Master has shut herself off again... She's reverted to being that self-pitying, degenerate recluse.'
"Who... is that Xiaoxuan?"
A hoarse female voice, thick with drink, called from the depths of the room.
"It is I, Master," Chen Sixuan replied softly, stepping slowly into the room.
"Is someone asking for my alchemy services again?"
Lu Ruoxi's voice suddenly rose, laced with irritation and self-mockery. "Honestly... Are they all deaf?"
"I've said it before: unless someone can bring my Junior Brother Pei back to me safely, I will never perform alchemy again for the rest of my life!"
She abruptly snatched the wine jug beside her and threw her head back for a large gulp. Liquor trickled from the corner of her sensual lips, soaking her disheveled robes.
Lu Ruoxi's eyes were red-rimmed. Like a stubborn child, she said with a slight tremor in her voice:
"If I can't see Junior Brother Pei... I will never perform alchemy again!"
Chen Sixuan looked at her master's pathetic state, her own heart aching with an indescribable bitterness.
She knew that Junior Martial Uncle Pei meant the world to her master, perhaps to a point that defied conventional morality...
But now, this recently mended bond had been cruelly severed once again.
For her master, it was as if the sky had fallen.
Chen Sixuan took a deep breath and said gently, "Master, this visitor isn't here seeking alchemy... It's Junior Martial Uncle Ye."
"Liyuan?"
Lu Ruoxi froze in the middle of drinking, a faint glimmer of light flashing in her hazy, drunken eyes.
She snapped her head up, a sudden hint of hope in her voice. "She's here to see me... Could she have found a clue about Junior Brother Pei?!"
Chen Sixuan looked at her master's expectant face. Although she didn't want to cruelly crush her hopes, she still had to say softly:
"No, Master. Junior Martial Uncle Ye said she wishes to ask for your guidance on a matter of cultivation."
The light in Lu Ruoxi's beautiful eyes gradually dimmed.
She was silent for a moment before dejectedly tossing the wine jug aside.
"Cultivation... Even if Junior Sister Ye continues to cultivate, what use would it be? The woman who took Junior Brother Pei slaughtered three Mahayana Stage masters as if they were chickens.
Junior Sister Ye is only at the Divinity Transformation stage right now. Even if she breaks through, she'll only be at the Void Refining realm. How is she supposed to rescue Junior Brother Pei with that kind of power?"
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