Embers of Sword

Chapter 538 You are the candlelight, I am the firefly

A chilling wind swept by.

The holy radiance emanating from the pure white Dao stele was like the fire of the sun, illuminating the dark and gloomy sea of ​​souls.

Lonely souls and wandering ghosts gather in the banner.

The evil spirits and malevolent energy all swirled around Yuan Yi.

Her mind was completely silent, but a gentle voice crossed the Soul Banner and entered her heart.

"Miss Yuan."

It was Xie Zhen's voice.

"Mr. Xiao Xie..."

Yuan Yi tried hard to open her eyes, but before her were countless ghosts, blotting out the sky and leaving only darkness.

The sound was like sunlight shining into a lake of the heart.

Even the chillingly cold soul banner seemed to have gained some warmth.

Yuan Yi's lips trembled slightly.

"it's me."

"Trust me, I will get you out of here..."

Xie Xuanyi's voice slowly settled into her heart.

Yuan Yi no longer felt cold, nor was she flustered.

From within the lake of a young girl's heart, a gentle yet powerful guiding voice emanated.

"Now, think carefully, do you still remember the sword techniques I taught you?"

Yuan Yi was taken aback.

She closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting back to the Chen residence.

……

……

The White Crane Immortal, who had been sitting on the ground, struggled to stand up.

Renzuka gazed at the woman in the soul banner, his expression tinged with a mix of emotion and wistfulness.

When the paper-doll in black entrusted the girl to him, he didn't take her seriously.

Renzuka originally thought that this tactic would be useless against Xie Zhen.

What difference does it make if there's one more living person in the soul banner?

Because of Yuan Yi's existence, he inexplicably provoked Qin Qianlian into such a huge trouble... But only now did he realize that all of this was within the Paper Doll Dao's calculations. Not everyone in this world can sever all emotions and desires, and not everyone can cultivate the Supreme Forgetfulness of Emotions... The appearance of this woman truly brought that deadly flying sword to a halt.

"I need... your vital energy."

Renzuka beckoned with his hand again.

He spoke in a hoarse voice, but his tone carried an unyielding firmness.

On the other side of the soul banner, a cold wind howled, and swarms of ghosts surrounded it, resting against Yuan Yi's delicate and fair skin.

"...Is there anything else?"

Xie Xuanyi retrieved his flying sword and also his Dao Domain.

He stood a hundred feet away.

The chilling wind emanating from the void penetrated to the bone.

The way he looked at Ren Zhong was no different from looking at a dead man.

"I don't ask for much..."

Ren Zhong lowered his eyes and said softly, "Hand over the Dao of Life and your vital energy, and then leave this cave. I will then let her leave the Soul Banner."

"Why should I trust you?"

Xie Xuanyi coldly transmitted his voice.

Do you have a choice?

Renzuka shook his head and said indifferently, "You have no choice but to believe me."

"..."

Xie Xuanyi stared silently at the man before her.

He extended two fingers and slowly touched his brow. A dense wisp of the Dao of Life peeled away, condensing into a pure white droplet in the air. This droplet landed in the air, emanating a coveted, sacred aura. In Renzuka's eyes at this moment, this was the most alluring thing in the world, without exception.

He certainly wanted the Great Dao Stele, but right now, the most important thing was to stay alive.

Xie Xuanyi tapped his fingers lightly.

The water droplet sliced ​​through the air, tracing a straight line, but instead of falling directly towards Ren Zhong, it shifted slightly, moving towards his side.

Master Baihe subconsciously reached out his hand.

The moment my thoughts went astray.

Renzuka's pupils contracted, and a look of shock suddenly appeared on his withered and weak face.

He looked in the direction of the spirit banner.

……

……

Yuan Yi would never forget that visit to the Chen family.

Her life was actually quite unremarkable, with very few things worth remembering. For her, the fact that she could meet Mr. Xie again after their parting at Beihailing was something to be happy about for a long time. She never dared to dream of being able to follow in Mr. Xie's footsteps and practice swordsmanship.

Therefore, the time spent at the Chen residence, even if it was only a few hours, is worth remembering for a lifetime.

She remembered every wisp of sword energy from the Chen residence.

I also remember every withered leaf in the Chen residence.

After leaving the Chen residence, the senior sisters from Hundred Flowers Valley asked her what she had learned—she stammered and couldn't answer, not because she wanted to keep it a secret, but because the sword intent she had comprehended at the Chen residence was still vague and unclear, like a sprout that had not yet grown.

Sunlight falls into the lake of my heart.

The sword's intent took root and sprouted.

Yuan Yi vaguely understood the meaning behind Xie Zhen's telepathic message.

She lowered her head, her gaze seemingly piercing through the chaos and landing on the very center of her heart.

The sword intent that Chen Fu comprehended that day landed here.

Yuan Yi's divine sense continued to decline.

Then it falls again.

Finally, she stood on a pitch-black lake.

She saw the wisp of sword intent amidst the chaos and darkness; a slender sword shadow coalesced, revealing a hilt. Following the guidance of her inner lake, Yuan Yi approached the hilt.

She tried to draw her sword.

The sword energy trembled.

This long-silent lake of the heart suddenly began to surge...

Yuan Yi then realized.

Deep within my own heart, something seems to be hidden...

She looked down and saw a huge, long, serpentine shadow.

The dim sword intent that had been drawn grew ever brighter, and the heart churned ever more violently—the serpentine shadow became increasingly unruly.

……

……

Xie Xuanyi did not draw his sword immediately.

Because the Soul-Devouring Banner contained countless layers of ghostly spirits, enveloping Yuan Yi within it.

He didn't get a second chance.

If one were to use the flying sword technique, one could kill Ren Zhong.

So what should be done if the spirit of the Soul Banner self-destructs?

For Xie Xuanyi...

There is only one answer to this question.

He couldn't possibly believe Ren Zhong's nonsense. Given the modus operandi of the evil cultivators in Southern Xinjiang, once they succeeded in demanding something, they would do it a second time, and a third. Ren Zhong didn't care about Yuan Yi's life or death at all, so he had to choose the most forceful method to save Yuan Yi.

This sword strike should not be aimed at killing Ren Zhong.

He wanted this sword to fall into the Soul Banner.

This sword strike is faster than Ren Zhong's divine sense, and faster than the self-destruction of a Yin spirit!
To deliver such a sword...

Then Yuan Yi needs to provide a clue within the Soul Banner.

"Buzz!"

An opportunity has arisen.

Suddenly, a wisp of extremely thin and weak jet-black sword energy ignited within the soul banner.

The girl, entangled and bound by countless soul chains, unwittingly unearthed the seed of sword energy buried deep within Chen Fu's heart. Xie Xuanyi had been waiting for this very moment. Sensing the sword energy, the flying sword was drawn. The [Sinking Illness] that had retreated into its natal cave swiftly shot out, transforming into a surging storm of wind and thunder, instantly crashing into the Soul-Devouring Banner. Countless ghostly shadows shattered. Ren Zhong had arranged numerous array patterns within his [Sea of ​​Souls]. He didn't care that Xie Xuanyi was attacking him with a flying sword, because he was connected to the Soul Banner by heart. With just a thought, he could manipulate the Yin Souls to self-destruct, leaving the girl with no place to bury her.

This time, however, the flying sword was aimed at the heart of the Soul-Devouring Banner, at the mass of self-destructing Yin spirits that enveloped Yuan Yi.

"Do not……"

Renzuka's eyes widened. When he realized what Xie Zhen was about to do, he did not hesitate at all and immediately detonated the Soul Banner!
Rumble!
Countless souls exploded around Yuan Yi.

At the same moment the soul self-destructed, golden wind and thunder crashed into the soul banner. This flying sword arrived almost at the same time as Ren Zhong's divine sense, and it swept through everything in its path, shattering dozens of solid soul chains!
Xie Xuanyi used the fastest speed he had ever achieved to cure his chronic illness!
The flying sword instantly circled around—

The Soul Banner exploded, and in the sea of ​​fire, a delicate figure was enveloped by a golden flying sword, traversing the void and being thrown towards Xie Xuanyi's location.

"Do not!!!"

A look of despair appeared before Renzuka.

He knew Xie Zhen's flying sword was very fast.

But he didn't know that the flying sword could be this fast—

It was almost identical to his own divine thoughts.

No… this sword strike was even faster than his divine sense!
……

……

The flames shattered, and the golden wind and thunder transformed from the lingering illness pierced through the sea of ​​fire on the soul banner once and again.

Xie Xuanyi breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly stepped forward, reached out his hand, and caught the woman falling from the air.

Just the next moment.

Xie Xuanyi's expression suddenly froze.

Xie Xuanyi stared blankly at the girl lying in his arms, her snow-white clothes soaked with crimson blood... This blood did not come from the Soul Banner, nor from the previous self-destruction of the Yin Spirit. Although Ren Zhong had imprisoned Yuan Yi within the Soul Banner, he had not abused her. To him, this was an extremely important trump card that he could not afford to lose lightly.

Fresh blood seeped from all over Yuan Yi's skin.

Thin, scarlet snakes slithered beneath Yuan Yi's skin.

The girl's delicate skin couldn't withstand the pressure of these "blood snakes," and it began to crack, shattering like porcelain, from which blood flowed. "...Mr. Xie?"

Yuan Yi looked at the young man in black in front of her, her expression somewhat puzzled.

Until this moment, she was still unaware of the abnormality in her body.

She doesn't quite understand.

Why did Mr. Xie look unhappy even though he had "escaped death"?

Xie Xuanyi stared at the blood snakes flowing from the girl's skin, his voice trembling as he asked, "After you left, who did you meet?"

"I……"

The girl was stunned.

Yuan Yi tried hard to recall for a moment.

She looked bewildered and said softly, "After descending the mountain, I intended to rush back to Round Turtle Mountain... but on the way, I encountered a child in white robes..."

"When I woke up again, I was inside the Soul Banner."

A child in a white robe...

A child in a white robe!

After Yuan Yi went down the mountain, she encountered... the White Ghost.

Xie Xuanyi stared at the blood flowing from the girl's skin, his voice hoarse as he slowly uttered two words: "What did he feed you?"

"What did you feed me...?"

Yuan Yi was stunned.

Her memory abruptly ended; the moment she saw the child in the white robe, she lost consciousness.

"Earthworm……"

"It's an earth dragon..."

Renzuka's voice could be heard from afar.

Although Master Baihe, who detonated the Soul Banner, gained a sliver of "life," he was still extremely weak. He collapsed to the ground, his face pale as he stared at the blood snakes writhing within the girl's skin, shrouded in a deep gloom. The smugness and pride he had felt upon learning of his master's death had vanished completely. At this moment, Renzuka stood frozen like a stone statue.

Earth dragon?

Yuan Yi had heard of this name before. It was a demonic pet kept by the White Ghost of Yin Mountain. It was said to be an extremely dangerous and gluttonous creature of the Yin, capable of eating anything if it were not bound by the Great Dao.

The girl was stunned for a moment.

She raised her withered arm, looked at the churning blood snake beneath her skin, and vaguely understood the meaning of those two words.

and so……

The surging shadow of a snake in the lake of my heart.

it is true.

"puff!"

A burst of blood mist suddenly erupted from the girl's pale, delicate neck, from which a blood snake abruptly flew out.

Then came the second and third points—

Within the vast blood mist, blood snakes emerged from the girl's body, their embryos forming the openings.

These blood snakes are not powerful.

With a single step, the golden divine embryo crushed a large number of people to death.

However, many blood snakes still fled in the opposite direction, rushing out and heading straight towards Renzuka's location.

"Master!"

"Master, spare me!"

As the blood snake drew near, Renzuka cried out in terror.

As he watched the slithering snakes approaching, Renzuka called out the words "Master."

He knelt down again, banging his head on the ground, kowtowing violently until his head was covered in blood... but this was pointless, as the blood snake's speed did not slow down at all.

Whoosh!
A blood snake slithered into his open lips.

Renzuka suddenly stopped.

He remained kneeling, no longer kowtowing or moving... until several breaths later, his head slowly rose.

The colors in his eyes kept changing, eventually turning into a cold white.

Yinshan is a sect that "eats people".

All these years.

The idea that masters eat their disciples' food and disciples eat their masters' food has long been a tradition.

Having painstakingly cultivated such a prized disciple as Renzuka, Bai Gui was naturally not satisfied with a mere "Great Dao Oath." The moment Renzuka decided to step into the Bai Ze Secret Tomb, he laid down this contingency plan that would never fail.

The paper doll told him that Xie Zhen was the most important person.

So the white ghost set out to stop Yuan Yi and buried the "earth dragon" into the girl's body.

Next, the paper doll in black handed "Yuan Yi" to Ren Zhong as a chess piece.

He knows his disciple too well.

In any case, Renzuka would not release the Soul-Devouring Banner from "Yuan Yi".

In this way, the trip to the secret tomb will be more secure.

Even if his prized disciple were to actually obtain the Great Dao Stele, it would only benefit him in vain.

Now it seems...

The only miscalculation was that even Bai Gui hadn't anticipated that Xie Xuanyi's flying sword could be so fast.

His "earth dragon" hadn't even hatched yet.

Yuan Yi, who was a hostage, was forcibly rescued.

However, this variable will not disrupt the overall situation.

Even if a spineless person occasionally straightens up, they will soon kneel down again.

So many years have passed.

Renzuka... is still the same Renzuka.

……

……

Xie Xuanyi held Yuan Yi in his arms, ignoring the changes in "White Crane Immortal" at that moment.

A great deal of vitality, energy, and the vapor of the Fountain of Immortality were being transferred into Yuan Yi's body...

He saved Zhou and Ye Zu.

But they couldn't save Yuan Yi.

How are these vital energies, these life force, these fountains of immortality sent away, and how are they brought back?

This was because the earth dragon had devoured the girl's lungs and internal organs...

In a sense.

The girl before him had become an empty shell; even with the support of the Fountain of Immortality, she would not live for more than a short while.

The skin withers, like fallen flowers.

Xie Xuanyi's face turned deathly pale.

Yuan Yi, however, was still smiling.

Looking at the face before her, she felt no pain; on the contrary, she felt joy.

"Mr. Xiao Xie..."

Yuan Yi looked at the young man in front of her and asked with some heartache, "Am I going to die?"

The book says that death is a terrible thing.

Yuan Yi originally thought so too.

But now, she suddenly doesn't think so anymore.

"..."

Xie Xuanyi opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't utter a single word.

He really wanted to say, "You won't die."

But he couldn't bring himself to tell such a lie.

"It's okay. I understand."

Looking at the expression on the person in front of me.

Yuan Yi forced a smile.

She said in a very soft voice, "Mr. Xie, I have something to say..."

Xie Xuanyi took a deep breath.

He dared not interrupt Yuan Yi.

The girl in his arms was like a soft wad of cotton, as if she would be blown away by the wind. Xie Xuanyi didn't even dare to exert any force in his arms.

"..."

Yuan Yi thought for a long time, her expression somewhat dazed.

She had so much to say, so much to say.

In fact, Yuan Yi regretted it as soon as she left Liting Mountain after the last parting.

She knew she was a burden, but if she could do it all over again, she really wanted to stay by Mr. Xie's side.

Yuan Yi originally thought that she would be refined by the Soul Banner and become a withered ghost.

But looking back now, it's wonderful to be able to see each other one last time before I die...

That is already the greatest mercy of Heaven.

If we had known that life was so short, we would have left no regrets.

People like Mr. Xie.

It is the sun, it is candlelight.

And I... am like a firefly drawn to a flame.

But so what? Fireflies are drawn to flames; they should do so without hesitation or regret.

Countless thoughts flashed through my mind.

All the words in Yuan Yi's mind eventually vanished like smoke.

finally.

"Xie Zhen, do you know..."

The girl gazed at the gradually blurring face before her, finally mustering the courage to speak, but her voice trailed off like a dream: "I like you..."

"I really like it...I really like it..."

(End of this chapter)