Longevity, starting from traveling and telling stories

Chapter 213 The Four Symbols
Her wet clothes clung tightly to her skin, and beneath the light gauze, Qin Ruoxi's skin was faintly visible, incredibly alluring. As a young woman newly married, she possessed a captivating blend of sweet and savory qualities.

Ye Beixuan took out two sets of dry clothes from the amber pendant, and the two changed into them by the pool. Qin Ruoxi wore loose clothes that covered her straight and slender curves.

In the dense ancient forest, strange fluorescent lights flickered from time to time among the weeds and bushes. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be fireflies hiding among the bushes and weeds.

The faint sound of footsteps was particularly jarring, and with each step they took, they left deep footprints in the soft ground.

Looking around, one sees ancient trees with gnarled roots and twisted branches, but strangely, all the branches point in the same direction.

"Look," Qin Ruoxi said, pointing to the dark brown tree trunk, where some specific patterns had emerged.

Ye Beixuan reached out and touched the texture. The bark felt cold and rough, as if he were touching the scales of a sleeping giant python.

A gust of wind blew by, and the branches seemed to stretch out their claws, the trunks swaying and making sharp noises, like the cries of a baby.

A strange fragrance wafted over, and Qin Ruoxi's eyes instantly went blank, her feet involuntarily taking a step forward.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang in Ye Beixuan's mind: "Come here, come here."

"Wait! Ruoxi." Ye Beixuan reached out to grab her, but found that his hand passed right through her body and he grabbed nothing.

He quickly turned his head to look ahead, and there was a strip of his own clothing hanging on the withered tree. It was the same piece of clothing that Qin Ruoxi had just had torn by the tree branch.

In the blink of an eye, they realized that the two were walking further and further apart, as if they were walking in opposite directions.

"An illusion?" Ye Beixuan looked up at the sky and was shocked to find a strange, dark green water droplet suspended vertically in the air, refracting countless light and shadow.

"I see." Following the direction of the light refracted by the water droplets, he tentatively touched the tree trunk to verify its reality, only to find that the tree trunk was solid.

What's going on? Logically, the image created by the refraction of light should be as illusory as a mirage, so why is it solid here? Ye Beixuan ran his fingertips along the rough tree trunk, lost in thought. Suddenly, he noticed a strange change in the light on his fingernails.

He was suddenly startled, and immediately understood the reason. It turned out that the deep green water droplets projected the scene here onto the sky, and the light, after shifting, refracted back into the distance, merging illusion and reality into one, making it difficult to distinguish between them. No wonder the people of the three immortal palaces had not noticed anything unusual.

Having figured this out, Ye Beixuan took out the Samsara Mirror from his robes and used the lens to reflect light. In an instant, the light changed, the surrounding illusion distorted, some trees and flowers disappeared, revealing the real scene, and Qin Ruoxi's figure appeared. At this moment, she had already walked more than thirty feet away.

After Ye Beixuan spotted her, he hurriedly chased after her. But Qin Ruoxi's eyes were vacant, and she just walked forward aimlessly. No matter how Ye Beixuan called out to her, he couldn't wake her up.

Ye Beixuan came to her side and took her hand. In the instant they turned around, the path they had just walked on had turned into a bottomless abyss.

At the same time, the original locations of the towering ancient trees also changed, and the ground kept switching between reality and illusion.

Just then, a sandalwood scent suddenly wafted through the air, giving one a splitting headache.

Ye Beixuan closed his eyes and concentrated. When he opened them again, the ancient trees in his field of vision seemed to have turned into a swirling nebula, rotating around a certain point.

And at the center of that rotation, a faint, eerie green light was shimmering.

"I see." This shape seems to contain the laws of all things in the world. Isn't it just like the galaxy map on Earth, where there is a huge black hole at the center of the galaxy, and its gravity pulls all the stars to revolve around it?

Therefore, that location must be...

Ye Beixuan suddenly looked up in that direction, and a tree that was completely different from the others came into view. It was not tall, but its only special feature was that it was straight and slender, and a deep green sheen was faintly visible under its bark.

He cut his palm, and although his spiritual power was suppressed to the extreme, making him like a mortal, he still used all his strength to condense his blood into a flying knife, and then swung it with all his might.

The flying knife, imbued with blood invulnerable to all evil and imbued with the Southern Ming Fire, shot straight away.

The crimson throwing knife struck its target firmly, making a slight impact before embedding itself deep into the tree trunk, followed by a cry like that of a baby.

A piece of bark peeled off, revealing the dark green trunk underneath, from which a drop of dark green liquid slowly flowed.

At that moment, the tree trunk where the bark had peeled off transformed into the face of an old woman, who said indifferently, "Poor humans."

Immediately afterward, a large swarm of branches swept over, binding Ye Beixuan tightly. The old woman uttered inhuman words, "May you be forever trapped in this illusion!"

Ye Beixuan struggled fiercely, and although he was not afraid of the illusion, he could not break free at this moment.

At this moment, Qin Ruoxi remained standing still, deeply immersed in the illusion.

In the scene, she saw a pink figure standing on a huge platform, holding a celestial sword that exuded a chilling sword aura, the sword stained with blood.

That was another version of herself, her face etched with sorrow as she slew one immortal after another.

The sorrowful emotions in her hallucinations quickly spread to the depths of her heart, until finally, her eyes turned bloodshot, she took her own life with a sword, and a feeling of liberation followed.

"Ah..." Qin Ruoxi suddenly screamed, and a cold light shot out. The Immortal Slayer was suddenly drawn, and the powerful aura it emitted caused all the surrounding trees to move backward involuntarily, as if they had grown legs.

Whoosh! A flash of cold light struck, heading straight for Ye Beixuan.

"Break!" A blood-red flying knife shot out and struck the girl's forehead.

Qin Ruoxi regained her senses immediately, but was horrified to find herself pointing a sword at her lover, the tip of the sword already pressed against his throat, and blood was even trickling down his Adam's apple.

An angry shaking sound came, the ancient tree's body trembled violently, and countless thorny vines burst open from the ground and attacked.

"Be free! Kill yourself, and you will be free." The old woman's voice was full of temptation, constantly bewitching Qin Ruoxi's vulnerable spot. Her voice seemed to switch between dream and reality, sometimes near and sometimes far: "As long as you die, your sins will be reduced by one point."

"Concentrate and calm your mind."

Just as Qin Ruoxi was lost in a daze again, a voice pulled her back from her confusion.

"I am innocent." Qin Ruoxi's eyes regained some clarity, and she swung her sword back at the tree.

"Ah..." A sharp and shrill scream echoed throughout the deep forest, startling countless birds and beasts.

The tree trunk, struck by the Immortal-Slaying Strike, immediately gushed forth fresh green sap, and the branches binding Ye Beixuan loosened on their own.

Ye Beixuan quickly embraced the real Qin Ruoxi, bit his tongue, and kissed her deeply. The kiss, sweet and slightly metallic, instantly sobered her up.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Ye Beixuan grasped her hand that was holding the Immortal Slayer Sword, and the two of them stood close together, one in front of the other, raising their swords in unison and thrusting them out at the tree trunk.

The ancient tree was instantly pierced by the Immortal Slayer, emitting a mournful wail. The old woman's face slowly collapsed and melted away, while dark green sap continuously flowed from the wound on the tree trunk.

"Could this be the Thousand-Year Wood Marrow Elixir?" Sensing the abundant life force contained within the deep green sap, Ye Beixuan took out a porcelain bottle and collected the sap little by little until he had collected enough for half a cup of tea before the sap stopped flowing.

As if shy, all the leaves of the ancient tree began to shrink, the trunk gradually turned black, and the leaves fell one after another. It was slowly dying.

Qin Ruoxi drew the Immortal-Slaying Sword and sheathed it, but a faint sadness welled up in her heart. Perhaps it was the fragments of memories from the illusion that she couldn't shake off.

Just now, she inadvertently saw her future self in the broken mirror that Ye Beixuan took out, a self-inflicted death on a large platform.

"What's wrong?" Ye Beixuan noticed her unusual behavior and asked with concern.

"N-nothing..." Qin Ruoxi replied softly, but a deep sadness lingered in her heart. Then she thought: illusions are just illusions; there's no need to take them seriously.

"Take me back! I've got the stuff." Ye Beixuan held the porcelain bottle, wondering to himself, "The tree demon has been eliminated, so why is my spiritual power still being suppressed?"

Just as they were preparing to return home.

A sinister and terrifying voice rang out.

"Hahahaha! I've finally broken the seal." The two turned around and saw the tree that had just died suddenly explode, and a phantom with a bright blue light appeared. It had a unicorn's head, eagle claws, a snake's body that snaked and coiled, and a dark green halo around it.

"What is this?" Qin Ruoxi asked nervously, her five fingers tightly gripping Ye Beixuan's five fingers, her palms already covered in sweat.

"Azure Dragon." Ye Beixuan frowned, gazing at the four divine beasts, his mind racing. This was no coincidence. First came the Black Tortoise, now the Azure Dragon; the four cardinal directions and four symbols—surely there would also be the Vermilion Bird and the White Tiger. It seemed the legends were true, but why were they now only phantoms?

A greedy glint flashed in the eyes of the Azure Dragon phantom, and wisps of dark green aura emanated from its scales: "Immortal bodies, there are actually two immortal bodies."

Before he finished speaking, the dragon's phantom suddenly swelled, and its tail quickly wrapped around Ye Beixuan.

In its eyes, Ye Beixuan was just a mortal at this moment, and should be easier to deal with: "Having been sealed for so long, you will become my body!"

Ye Beixuan suddenly felt unable to move, as if he were locked in chains.

Qin Ruoxi swung her sword backhand, decisively wielding the Immortal Slayer Sword, severing the illusory dragon's tail with a single strike. At the same time, a small platform suddenly appeared between her brows, gradually rotating and expanding, pressing down on the enormous illusory image of the Azure Dragon.

The illusory azure dragon swelled once more, extending its claws to grasp at the platform. However, the moment the claws touched the platform, the illusory claws were instantly devoured: "The Execution Platform, this is impossible..."

A painful dragon roar echoed through the heavens and earth, the phantom wailed, and its body swept away countless towering ancient trees. Golden light flashed in Qin Ruoxi's eyes, and the large platform sucked the Azure Dragon onto it. Its body was gradually compressed and shrank, and at the same time, pitch-black chains appeared out of thin air on the platform, firmly locking the Azure Dragon's massive body.

She felt fragments of her memories resurface, as if something deep within her soul was pulling at her. Just then, the Immortal-Slaying Sword suddenly stirred, resonating with the platform. "No..." The Azure Dragon phantom struggled violently, its scales being pulled off by the increasingly tight iron chains, leaving it in a wretched state.

Since the appearance of the large platform, Ye Beixuan was pleasantly surprised to find that his spiritual power had been restored, and in the void, the Nanming Li Fire burned fiercely at his fingertips.

"The power of the Vermilion Bird!" the Azure Dragon cried out in terror. "Why? Why? Why?"

The moment the flames ignited, the dragon soul formed from the azure light shrank smaller and smaller under the intense heat of the flames.

Just then, the Mirror of Reincarnation suddenly stood in mid-air, illuminating the illusory image of the Azure Dragon. From its illusory image, a small fragment was gradually extracted until it floated in the air.

"A fragment of the Samsara Mirror?" Ye Beixuan was overjoyed; he had unexpectedly gained this unexpected treasure.

The Reincarnation Mirror and its fragments stood facing each other in mid-air, bursting forth with dazzling white light. At the moment of their collision, the large and small fragments finally merged successfully and flew back into Ye Beixuan's hand.

"No wonder this Azure Dragon is more powerful than the Black Tortoise; it swallowed a fragment!" Ye Beixuan's fingertip traced the smooth mirror surface, and a scene suddenly appeared on it.

In the scene, an unparalleled figure wields a sword that can slay immortals, suppressing the divine beasts of the four directions and forming the Four Symbols Reincarnation Array to protect a world.

Qin Ruoxi leaned closer and said, "This mirror... seems to be more impressive than my big table."

Ye Beixuan gently pinched the tip of her nose and said softly, "No way! If I were as capable as you, I wouldn't have to work so hard."

Just when the two thought it was all over, the large platform suddenly floated in mid-air above the ancient tree that had just exploded, emitting a beam of blue light that pointed directly into the depths of the tree roots.

The ground trembled, and the tree roots beneath the earth burst forth like giant pythons to avoid it. Even after the roots were completely sucked out, the soil below continued to churn slowly, as if something else was about to emerge.

Suddenly, the head of a wooden ladder-like object slowly emerged, followed by a rectangular wooden object covered in mysterious runes that slowly rose into the air.

Its height is similar to that of a person, and there is a small round hole at the top, as if it were used to choke a person's neck.

"This is... a cage for restraining prisoners?" Ye Beixuan was quite familiar with this. Wasn't this the kind of cage used in ancient times to imprison prisoners? It made it impossible for prisoners to stand or lie down.

After it was unearthed, it gradually shrank and entered Qin Ruoxi's brow and heart altar along with the large platform.

After the cage was subdued, Ye Beixuan fell into deep thought. This was no accident. The Azure Dragon governs wood, and the Black Tortoise governs water, and they correspond to different directions. Therefore, it seemed certain that the White Tiger and the Vermilion Bird would also appear.

"Let's go back!" Ye Beixuan said softly, seeing Qin Ruoxi standing there blankly after subduing the cage.

"I want to go to the west," Qin Ruoxi suddenly said.

Then she said softly, "I feel that relying solely on the millennium wood marrow liquid is not enough; we need something else."

Ye Beixuan was taken aback. This girl had become increasingly strange ever since she subdued Da Taizi.

But he still said softly, "It seems to be Zijin Mountain to the west. It is said to be arid all year round, with bare mountains. However, it is rich in Zijin Essence, warm jade, and even star-shaped stones."

"I don't know, do you believe me?" Qin Ruoxi said.

Normally, Ye Beixuan would never have believed this crazy girl, but the things that had happened now left him no choice but to believe her. If once was a coincidence, twice was inevitable; this was definitely not a coincidence.

"I'll go with you." Ye Beixuan waved his hand, and the Immortal Slayer sword automatically unsheathed itself, hovering in the air. He leaped up and stood on the sword, extending his hand and saying softly, "Get on. The journey is long, and although flying on our swords will consume spiritual energy, it will be much faster."

Qin Ruoxi reached out her hand, and her body was pulled along, allowing her to stand smoothly behind him and press herself tightly against him.

"Hold on tight," Ye Beixuan whispered, and then a soft embrace came over him as a pair of jade-like hands encircled his waist.

A streak of light pierced the sky and sped off toward the west.

The scorching sun beat down on the earth, waves of heat washing over it. Ye Beixuan looked around; almost everything was reddish-brown rock. A drop of sweat fell to the ground, making a sizzling sound.

He took a deep breath of the scorching air and couldn't help but complain, "This godforsaken place is so hot. It's truly a godforsaken place. It's only because it's rich in minerals that even ghosts wouldn't come here."

As he spoke, he took out a bag of water and handed it to Qin Ruoxi. This was water he had added with spiritual herbs, which could restore spiritual power.

Qin Ruoxi pushed the kettle back and said with concern, "You drink it! I'm not thirsty."

"People die for wealth, birds die for food, it's really true!" Without giving her a chance to refuse, Ye Beixuan held the water bag to her lips, then pointed to the red rock that emitted golden light like grains of sand, where a skeleton lay half-buried in the golden sand of the partially weathered red rock.

Qin Ruoxi curiously squatted down, casually picked up a golden rock from the ground, and examined it.

"Don't touch it." Ye Beixuan said, slapping the ore out of her hand. He said sternly, "This golden ore looks like gold, but it is actually a sulfurous ore full of corrosive poison. Only experienced old miners can recognize it. Even if you break through your cultivation level, you will find it difficult to resist its toxicity."

"Ah..." Qin Ruoxi looked at the tips of her index finger and thumb, where a small wound had been corroded and was still expanding.

Ye Beixuan quickly grabbed her hand and put it in his mouth to suck on it. A ticklish sensation came over her, and Qin Ruoxi involuntarily tried to pull away, but he held it tightly.

"Alright." After a long while, Ye Beixuan finally released her hand. After the drug treatment, the wound was mostly healed. He then turned to the rising heat and said, "Just don't touch anything again."

"I understand." Qin Ruoxi lowered her head and replied softly, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing together. She was surprised to find that the wound had healed and she felt no pain at all.

As she crossed a large canyon, the call in Qin Ruoxi's mind resurfaced, and she suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Ye Beixuan turned to look at her, who seemed a little strange, and asked gently.

“Over there, still to the west…” she said, pointing to the end of the canyon, her voice somewhat somber.

Soon, the two arrived at the end of the canyon, where there was no way to go. Before them stood a mountain peak that pierced the clouds, like a sharp sword, with smooth, mirror-like walls.

“There, right there,” Qin Ruoxi said urgently, pointing to the middle of the mountain.

Following her gaze, Ye Beixuan looked into the distance and, sure enough, there was a black dot in the middle of the mountain, which was a cave of moderate size.

The Immortal-Slaying Sword was drawn, hovering in mid-air. Ye Beixuan stood atop the sword and calmly said, "Hold me tight."

Whoosh! A streak of light shot upwards and arrived at the cave entrance in the blink of an eye. There was a platform at the entrance, the ground of which emitted a dark green glow like a spider web from the rocks.

Ye Beixuan warned, "These things look like warm jade, so don't touch them carelessly."

Qin Ruoxi teased, "What? Are you afraid I almost killed you like I did in the abyss of death?"

"I'm afraid you'll get poisoned again." He took Qin Ruoxi's hand and carefully led her slowly into the cave. "This place seems a bit unusual."

Outside the cave, the heat was intense, but inside it was cool and damp. The further you went in, the faint sound of dripping water could be heard, which was truly amazing.

Soon, the two reached the end of the passageway, where a stone wall blocked their path. Ye Beixuan controlled his strength and struck the stone wall with his palm, only to find it was solid, clearly indicating that the path was impassable.

"It should be here," Qin Ruoxi said, pointing to a crack in the stone wall at the end, just big enough for two people to fit through.

"Here? You mean, what you're looking for is in the deep pit underground?" Ye Beixuan casually picked up a rock and threw it down. Instantly, the falling rock collided several times, producing an echo.

After some calculations, Ye Beixuan concluded that the depth here was at least three hundred meters.

"Stay close to me." He activated a spiritual energy shield to protect the two of them.

Then he took out a belt and tied the two of them together, chuckling, "Just in case."

As they spoke, the two began to feel their way down into the cave. Fortunately, the cave was not vertical, but rather winding and twisting. Although there were vertical sections, there were also platforms where they could rest.

Just as they descended to about halfway down, Ye Beixuan felt increasingly strained, and cracks began to appear in his spiritual energy shield.

Seeing that he was about to give up, Qin Ruoxi immediately wrapped her legs around his waist: "It's spiritual energy suppression again."

"I feel like something is compressing my dantian..." He sighed helplessly, "From now on, I can only rely on you."

Qin Ruoxi nodded, tightened the belt binding the two of them around their waists, and continued to descend into the winding and narrow cave.

Suddenly, Qin Ruoxi lost her footing and stumbled, causing Ye Beixuan to lose control of his body as well, falling down with her.

Fortunately, she quickly adjusted her position in mid-air and stabilized herself before landing. The two of them landed on a flat ground like a human pyramid.

A strange golden light emanated from the surrounding area; it turned out to be the light emitted by some star stones and purple gold essence, illuminating the darkness.

Ahead of their fall lay a hidden passage, from which faint golden light emanated.

According to Ye Beixuan's calculations, this should be close to the bottom.

“There,” Qin Ruoxi said, pointing to the secret passage, “I can feel something there.”

(End of this chapter)