Chapter 6

Yin Xianyu’s chaotic thoughts cleared in an instant.

All those strange conversations she had overheard before were like a tangled knot of threads in her memory, each strand telling her the same thing: their relationship must have been unusually close.

The scattered scenes pieced together the little moments they had spent together day and night, making Yin Xianyu completely believe that she and Xie Qingrang had truly once been good friends. Memories could not lie; that had to be why things had come to this.

A rare trace of confusion appeared in Xie Qingrang’s eyes. She looked at Yin Xianyu with that bewildered expression, and Yin Xianyu could barely make out any emotion in her face at all; even so, she still couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

More and more people were gathering here. Once the Bone-Engraving Stone had appeared, those who wanted a share of the profit were rushing over like mad.

If they didn’t leave now, what had just happened would happen again; the two of them would definitely be trapped here.

Only, Yin Xianyu had only just stabilized her nascent soul, and her aura was still extremely unstable. She probably wouldn’t be able to escape these people’s pursuit so easily.

The aura from the Bone-Engraving Stone on her was far too intense; that cold, ancient scent, like an ordinary stone object, let everyone pinpoint her location at once.

“Where’s the Bone-Engraving Stone? Who has it?”

“A fool broke the protective magical artifact. It’s on that person now; looks like they’re also a disciple of Lingzhan Mountain.”

“Get lost, all of you. Don’t try to steal it from me!”

“Mine! It’s mine!”

These people didn’t have the slightest regard for the bloody battle that had just taken place. As the saying went, men die for wealth and birds for food; more accurately, even after seeing all that, their minds were still completely consumed by greed, desperate to seize some advantage in the chaos.

Xie Qingrang’s robe swept once, and all the various spirit tools and pills scattered on the ground that hadn’t yet been collected were gathered into her possession.

Among the crowd was a group of Lingzhan Mountain disciples who had followed over. The female cultivator wore a solemn expression; she used a piece of Azure Tide Glazed Net to separate the surrounding rogue cultivators and firmly shielded the disciples within it.

Standing inside the circle was a familiar female cultivator; it was Zhao Ruitian, whose cultivation had been ruined by a palm strike from Yin Xianyu before. She was now standing safely here, and her cultivation had even broken through to Foundation Establishment, successfully becoming an official disciple of Lingzhan Mountain.

A little excitedly, she pointed at the two people surrounded by the crowd. “Senior Sister Yaoguang, it’s Immortal Lord Qingrang!”

Ling Yaoguang followed the direction Zhao Ruitian pointed to; the token in her hand gave off a faint blue light. It was indeed Xie Qingrang.

But who was standing beside her? She frowned deeply, staring fixedly at that familiar back.

“Who’s that?”

“I don’t know. Looks like one of our Lingzhan Mountain people. Maybe a disciple from a subsidiary sect they rescued on the way.”

“Just by the robes, it looks like they’re the same as Immortal Lord Qingrang’s. Could it be…”

The words stopped there. Ling Yaoguang’s expression was extremely ugly. Everyone stared at the disciple who had spoken out of turn. Yu Yuanqing shrank back, lowering her head in embarrassment; inwardly, she cursed herself for being a fool. Everyone else knew better, yet she had to be the one to blurt it out.

Qingxu Sect now only had two people left. Aside from Xie Qingrang, who else could it be but Yin Xianyu?

What was more, Ling Yaoguang had admired Xie Qingrang for a long time. She usually seemed courteous and easygoing, but when it came to matters involving Xie Qingrang, she acted like she’d been possessed and showed no mercy to anyone who tried to get close to her.

And now this person was standing right beside Xie Qingrang. Xie Qingrang never allowed people near her, and the rumors over the past two days had made their prior relationship all the more unclear.

Yu Yuanqing was nearly crushed to suffocation by the pressure emanating from Ling Yaoguang. Yet she didn’t dare make a sound, afraid of angering her further; she could only cast a pleading look toward Zhao Ruitian.

Zhao Ruitian shot her a glare, then carefully forced a smile. “Senior Sister Yaoguang, Immortal Lord Qingrang must have just run into her by chance. There are so many rogue cultivators here; it’s too dangerous. Why don’t we leave this place first?”

The others had also been drawn over by the fierce aura of the Bone-Engraving Stone. Since they were already nearby and saw a large number of cultivators rushing in this direction, they followed to find out what was going on.

Ling Yaoguang’s gaze swept over the frenzied rogue cultivators around them, and a faint smile curved her lips.

“Ruitian, spread a tracking decree. Say that Yin Xianyu has the Bone-Engraving Stone on her.”

A tracking decree was a common method of locking onto someone’s position; it was often used on demonic cultivators. It left no trace afterward, and unless there was a blood feud, it was absolutely not used on fellow immortal sect cultivators.

Although this decree could be broken, the news would spread extremely widely. Once used, word of it would pass from ten to a hundred to a thousand; everyone would know. Even if the mark was removed from the body, it would be useless.

Zhao Ruitian hesitated for a moment. “Senior Sister, that doesn’t seem very appropriate.”

Ling Yaoguang gave her a cold sidelong glance; murderous intent filled her eyes, making that already gorgeous face look even more overcast.

Everyone fell silent in fear. Outside the circle, the noise shook the heavens; inside the circle, even the sound of a needle dropping could be heard. Not a single person dared speak.

Zhao Ruitian was deeply shaken. In her impression, Senior Sister Yaoguang had always been as bright and clear as the moon; she had also protected the disciples under her care. But now it was as if she had opened the door to a new world and could never turn back.

Under Ling Yaoguang’s stare, she could only stiffly write the message onto a magical artifact. Her fingers flew as she formed seals and shattered the artifact; all the spiritual light burst forth and scattered into the sky and earth. The cultivators around them all grew agitated.

Although the scattered Bone-Engraving Stone was only a treasure-grade item, its true body was a shattered upper-grade star artifact. Unlike ordinary marrow-cleansing pills, this was an extremely rare treasure; even for cultivators like Xie Qingrang, it was a precious object of no lesser value, and for others it was even more so.

The people inside the circle all began talking over one another. They all shot an appeasing look at Yu Yuanqing, signaling for her to say something.

The Yu Yuanqing beside her then timidly spoke up and continued persuading, “Senior Sister doesn’t need to worry. We’ve already sent out the tracking decree. Those two have never gotten along; Immortal Lord Qingrang will surely leave first.”

Only then did Ling Yaoguang’s expression improve quite a bit. She let out a long breath and quietly hid among the cultivators, watching the direction where Xie Qingrang was with bated breath.

Sure enough, Xie Qingrang stood up. Ling Yaoguang’s lips curved; she was in an excellent mood.

But before she could rejoice, she saw Xie Qingrang raise her eyes toward the densely packed crowd approaching and let out a cold laugh. She lowered her head, pulled the person into her arms, and with one palm scattered the surrounding cultivators before flying off into the distance, leaving nothing behind.

Yu Yuanqing’s expression froze. She felt as if she were definitely dead this time. Turning her head, she met Ling Yaoguang’s smile that was not quite a smile, and felt a chill creep up her neck.

——

Yin Xianyu didn’t understand the changes in her own body. She only felt that Xie Qingrang, who had once spoken to her without warmth but at least with a certain restraint, had become somewhat different.

Her wrist, tightly gripped, ached a little; yet she didn’t want to affect Xie Qingrang, so she could only grit her teeth and endure it, clenching her hand tightly.

The person beside her seemed to notice her oddness. After confirming that she wouldn’t run, the grip eased slightly.

Yin Xianyu had always met her with cold eyes before. This was different. Xie Qingrang couldn’t make sense of what she was feeling, but at the critical moment, she had still, almost ghostlike, brought the person along.

Yin Xianyu looked blank and helpless. If she had stayed there, those people probably would have torn her apart alive.

She wanted to strip the Bone-Engraving Stone from Yin Xianyu’s body; to do that, she still needed to keep her by her side, within arm’s reach at all times.

After thinking it over for a long while, Xie Qingrang turned to her and said, “Once we’re in Xuanxu Realm, you have to stay with me at all times. Do you understand?”

She had thought Xie Qingrang would refuse her as before, but instead the other woman looked at her with bright eyes and tightened her hand in return. Her gentle voice brushed so close to her ear that it almost sounded intimate. “Okay.”

Xie Qingrang, as if seeing a ghost, let go of Yin Xianyu’s hand; yet the other woman immediately clung back to her step by step.

Xie Qingrang forced down the discomfort and was about to shake her off when she heard her ask, “Senior Sister, where are we going now?”

Yin Xianyu felt her condition was quite good. This trip into Xuanxu Realm had originally been to search for the Seeking Mirror; it was just that being alone was still not as easy as having Xie Qingrang by her side.

Xie Qingrang didn’t immediately shake off her hand. She only asked, “You don’t know where to go?”

Yin Xianyu rubbed her tense temples. “Before entering the realm, I swallowed a Chongyuan Pill. To tell the truth, it seems part of my memory is missing.”

She explained everything that had happened when spiritual energy had surged into her body. Although her memories were now clearer, many things seemed sealed away, leaving no trace behind at all.

She knew very little about Xie Qingrang’s cultivation, let alone the preparations before entering this time. She had forgotten everything completely.

Xie Qingrang looked at her thoughtfully, and a strange light seemed to flash through those phoenix eyes.

She had been thinking about how to keep Yin Xianyu by her side, but since she truly knew nothing, it turned out she had simply messed up her brain by taking the wrong medicine and forgotten everything before now.

Even, even…

She lowered her eyes to look at that hand, with its distinct knuckles, gripping hers tightly. Clearly, back when they had parted, she had spoken as though they would never see each other again, that she and the sect had nothing whatsoever to do with one another anymore.

But now…

The strange feeling buried deep in Xie Qingrang’s heart, long sealed away for years, rose again. The Heartless Sword in her hand stirred violently and restlessly.

Yin Xianyu suddenly let go and reached for the sword. “Senior Sister, what’s wrong with Chiling?”

Xie Qingrang steadied herself, suppressing that odd feeling in her chest. When she opened her eyes again, it was once more with that detached expression. She lifted her hand slightly and drew the jade sword back into her palm.

“Nothing. Let’s go to the Five Elements Ground first.”

There were too many rogue cultivators and evil cultivators in the dark, charred earth; it was not a place to stay long. If they remained any longer, they might run into danger.

Yin Xianyu nodded and naturally took Xie Qingrang’s hand again. She struggled a little; as if conceding in helplessness, she tightened her grip on that unfamiliar yet familiar touch.

“Senior Sister, I seem to have forgotten to bring any pills. How is it that my mustard-seed bag is completely empty?”

Xie Qingrang took the mustard-seed bag from her waist and handed it over.

“Senior Sister, my spirit tools too…”

Xie Qingrang simply raised her hand and tossed over the spiritual treasures she had just looted, then gently pressed a finger to her lips, signaling her to be quiet.

Yin Xianyu lowered her head a little sheepishly, revealing a shy smile. She tucked the two mustard-seed bags into her sleeves and, thoroughly satisfied, followed beside Xie Qingrang.

Only then did she feel a tremor from the Hanguang Sword in her hand. She released the array; Hanguang Sword flew out and severed the tracking decree on her body.

Yin Xianyu froze for a moment, a bad feeling rising in her heart. Behind them, a huge mass of people was in fact following closely in the dark.