Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

"It's meaningless..."

Lu Ruoxi's pale lips moved, but she still got up and began to straighten her clothes and appearance.

Perhaps, even though Lu Ruoxi knew Ye Liyuan's efforts were futile, a part of her still held onto a sliver of hope.

「Half an hour later.」

Lu Ruoxi met with Ye Liyuan.

Seeing Junior Sister Ye again after so long, her condition was somewhat unexpected to Lu Ruoxi.

She had heard that Junior Sister Ye fainted dead away upon learning that Junior Brother Pei had been captured.

Lu Ruoxi had assumed her complexion would be even worse than her own; it wouldn't have been an exaggeration for her to fall gravely ill or cry herself blind again.

But to her surprise, Ye Liyuan's complexion was far better than she'd imagined. Aside from the faint, lingering sorrow in her beautiful eyes, one could hardly tell this was a woman who had lost her beloved Dao Companion.

Lu Ruoxi was silent for a moment before she said:

"Liyuan, you are far stronger than I, your senior sister. And I am far more fragile than I thought."

Ye Liyuan was taken aback for a moment, then replied softly:

"Senior Sister, for Ah Han's sake, I must be strong. He was the one who supported me and kept me going before. Now it's my turn to be there for him. I can't fall apart."

"I will pay any price for him."

Sunlight slanted across one side of Ye Liyuan's face, and only then did Lu Ruoxi notice the dark flicker of fire deep in her eyes.

It was not a healthy flush, but a feverish, morbid crimson.

It was as if something was burning fiercely within her, or perhaps, awakening... It gave her entire being an almost dangerous sense of obsession.

It made her seem somewhat unfamiliar to Lu Ruoxi.

However, at a time like this, perhaps it wasn't a bad thing for Junior Sister Ye to undergo such a change.

To bring back Junior Brother Pei, they needed more, many more! They needed desperate madmen who didn't fear death!

Lu Ruoxi took a deep breath. Without any further pleasantries, she got straight to the point.

"Junior Sister Ye, what questions did you have for me?"

Ye Liyuan straightened her back and earnestly began to describe the nightmares she had been having repeatedly.

She also mentioned how she tried to calm her mind and break through in her cultivation, only to be constantly thwarted by those maddening whispers.

Lu Ruoxi pondered this for a moment before asking, "Junior Sister, when did this start happening?

Did you not experience this when you faced your Golden Core Thunder Tribulation, Nascent Soul Thunder Tribulation, or Divinity Transformation Thunder Tribulation?"

Ye Liyuan shook her head. After a moment's hesitation, she mustered her courage and told Lu Ruoxi the private secret about the rift that had formed between her and Ah Han after Nangong Jin's arrival.

"It all started after Nangong Jin came back..."

"She seems to have said something to Ah Han, probably some fabricated slander about me. From that day on, I felt like Ah Han was intentionally distancing himself from me...

He wasn't even willing to share a bed with me. I was in so much pain during that time. I always felt like he found me repulsive."

As Ye Liyuan spoke, another flash of gloom crossed her beautiful eyes.

"At the same time, I was terrified. I was afraid that after he grew tired of me, he would end up with another woman...

Even though I trusted Ah Han's character, those hungry wolves eyeing him would definitely not let such a moment of vulnerability pass."

When Lu Ruoxi heard the phrase "moment of vulnerability," her full lips trembled slightly.

Unconsciously, she shifted her rounded hips in embarrassment, pressing her long, shapely legs tightly together.

After all, she had once been one of those "hungry wolves" who took advantage of a vulnerability to get close to her junior sister's man.

'But that's all in the past now.'

'I won't sneak around behind my junior sister's back anymore.'

'Junior Sister Ye... she'll forgive me, right?'

Lu Ruoxi pursed her lips. She raised her teacup and took a sip to hide her expression, but a few drops of tea splashed out, blooming like tiny flowers on the table.

"I see... Then Junior Sister Ye's abnormality is likely related to your unresolved feelings for Junior Brother Pei.

It's even possible you've developed a Heart Demon because of it. I'll give you some High Tier Elixirs that should help. Take them and see if your condition improves."

When Cultivators absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi during their practice, they inevitably inhale many impurities. If a Cultivator's Dao Heart is unstable, these impurities can mutate and worsen over time, eventually evolving into a Heart Demon that affects their Dao Heart.

Spirit Pills that can cure a Heart Demon are considered divine medicines in the outside world, so rare that a single one is nearly impossible to find. They are in the same highest tier as elixirs that extend one's lifespan or cleanse one's marrow to improve potential.

Only the most high-ranking Alchemists can refine them.

Yet Lu Ruoxi simply took them out and handed them to Ye Liyuan as if they were nothing.

Ye Liyuan, of course, knew how precious these Spirit Pills were. She said solemnly:

"Senior Sister, Liyuan owes you another great debt. If you ever need anything in the future, Liyuan will surely repay you."

Lu Ruoxi shook her head and said softly, "They are merely external objects. Don't overthink it, Junior Sister."

'Besides... Junior Brother Pei has already paid the "price" for you.'

Unaware that all of fate's gifts come with a price tag already attached, Ye Liyuan simply thought her senior sister was being modest.

'Fine, as long as I remember to repay Senior Sister's kindness, that's all that matters.'

With this thought, Ye Liyuan took the Spirit Pill and began to cultivate with her eyes closed.

Her consciousness delved deep into the unseen.

Faintly, the countless mocking whispers returned.

This time, however, Ye Liyuan was not disturbed by those sinister voices.

The elixir's power erupted within her, transforming into a thousand warm currents that flowed through her meridians. They finally converged into a translucent, amber membrane of light, wrapping around her layer by layer like the gentlest of cocoons.

It was as if noise cancellation had been turned on; the vexing sounds could no longer be heard.

Empowered by the elixir, Ye Liyuan was able to delve into the deeper regions of her Heart Lake.

To break through to the Void Refining realm, the most important thing is to fully know oneself.

This process of creating self-awareness from nothingness is the essence of Void Refining, and it is also the origin of the realm's most difficult ordeal, the Trial of Heart Tribulation.

Right now, in order to know herself, Ye Liyuan had to dive into the deepest parts of her Heart Lake to fully recognize who she was.

Within the amber cocoon of light formed by the elixir, Ye Liyuan smoothly descended to the depths of her Heart Lake.

Suddenly, tiny bubbles escaped from her lips, tracing fleeting silver threads in the pitch-black water.

Then, she discovered...

'Why is the water of my Heart Lake getting darker and darker?'

Ye Liyuan's pupils contracted slightly.

Her once-clear Heart Lake was now as thick as ink. Dark red streams of light occasionally flashed through it, looking very much like clotted blood.

When she reached out to part the water, she felt a sticky resistance, as if she were tearing through black sludge.

Gazing at the inky black water, Ye Liyuan felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding.

A voice echoed in her mind, right beside her ear, warning her not to dive any deeper, or something terrible would surely happen.

'Leave now... turn back... If you go back now, there's still time.'

But...

Ye Liyuan suddenly bit her lower lip. The moment the taste of blood filled her mouth, two resolute sparks ignited in the depths of her eyes.

'I've already come this far. If I retreat now, my path of cultivation will likely be stagnant for the rest of my life.'

'If I remain as weak as I was before, how could I possibly save Ah Han?!'

She suddenly clenched her delicate fists, her nails digging deep into her flesh.

A drop of blood trickled from between her fingers, spreading a startling crimson in the pitch-black Heart Lake.

Ye Liyuan resolutely ignored the warning that was practically screaming in her mind. Like a moth to a flame, she leaped into the deeper darkness.

She didn't know how long she descended.

At the bottom of the Heart Lake, Ye Liyuan saw a pitch-black coffin. The lid was clearly loose, and rolling darkness flowed out from the gap between the lid and the coffin's body. It seemed the thing lying inside this coffin was the source of the Heart Lake's murky blackness.

If not for the scarlet arcs of electricity dancing on the coffin, Ye Liyuan truly would not have noticed it in the inky water.

'What's with this coffin? The lightning on it actually has the aura of Blood Evil Tribulation Thunder... '

Ye Liyuan couldn't believe she had such a monstrous thing inside her... It seemed she had never known herself as well as she thought.

She mustered her courage, extended a slender hand, and pushed with all her might against the coffin lid.

As a stream of bubbles billowed up before her eyes...

Ye Liyuan, using the amber light from the elixir's power, could see clearly what was inside the coffin.

There was a person lying inside.

'Is... is that me?'

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