The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

After passing through the dark and cramped narrow passage, the view suddenly opened up before us.

It was a magnificent sight, almost divine.

The two sheer cliffs, thousands of feet high, seemed to have been cleaved in two by a divine sword, creating a vast valley dozens of feet wide on either side.

At the end of the valley, a whole cliff face rises abruptly from the ground, over a hundred feet high, its entire surface as white as jade.

Countless dark blue spiritual veins flowed across the wall, inhabited by tens of thousands of starlight fireflies.

The fireflies' wings fluttered gently, creating shimmering starlight, like a flowing Milky Way.

Tang Xixue held her breath.

She gently raised her delicate fingers and placed them against her lips.

The color of her lips was an extremely pale, lustrous blush, like a pink butterfly or plum blossom about to bloom on a branch.

"Shh-"

Her voice was as soft as a falling petal brushing across the water.

Those starlight fireflies are extremely timid spirits. If they are truly startled and scattered, this living map reflecting the direction of the spiritual veins will never be able to be pieced back together.

Si Xing was behind her, about to ask a question, but seeing her action, he swallowed his words.

He slowed his pace, stepping lightly on the soft, spiritual soil, and walked step by step to her side.

Once he stood still and looked up, his pupils suddenly contracted.

What a breathtaking sight that was.

Thousands upon thousands of starlight and fireflies converge to form a vast map.

"So this is the real map."

Si Xingxuan's voice was very low, tinged with genuine amazement.

"In the stories my grandmaster told me, he only mentioned the map carved on the cliff. But he never said that the map was alive."

Tang Xixue's gaze fell on the shimmering star map, her voice soft.

"It seems that those who passed through the narrow passage in the past disturbed the snakes along the way, and these fireflies, being extremely timid, were frightened away early on. What they saw was probably just the old, mottled carvings at the bottom of the stone wall."

"I wonder if the two maps are the same?"

Si Xingxuan was very curious.

Both of them watched very intently.

Tang Xixue narrowed her starry eyes slightly, her gaze moving upwards from the bottom entrance, imprinting the direction of each spiritual vein and the location of the Immortal Palace into her mind.

The ability to memorize things at a glance came in very handy at this moment.

Si Xingxuan also abandoned his usual lazy demeanor, his slender fingers silently tracing a route within his sleeve.

"The location of that celestial palace requires traversing three lakes. The lakes appear calm, but the spiritual veins bend at the bottom, and the entrance should not be on the shore, but underwater."

He lightly pointed to a spot on the map with his fingertip, where a winding, deep blue spiritual vein was passing through the bottom of the lake.

"Zhizhi, look here. Where the spiritual veins converge, the water is a bit darker than the surrounding area. That should be the real passage."

"And this canyon."

Tang Xixue nodded slightly and stretched out her hand, her fingertips lightly touching another area densely populated with spiritual veins.

"Seven spiritual veins converge here, yet each then turns back, like a natural maze. If you don't know the direction of the spiritual veins and rashly enter the valley, you'll probably wander around for a long time."

The two of them took turns talking and identified the most complex nodes on the map.

Focused and in sync.

suddenly.

A commotion came from the direction of the narrow passage.

At first, there was a very faint rustling sound, like drizzle on withered leaves.

Then, the sound grew louder and louder.

Finally, the thousands of snakes hissed in unison, the sound piercing through the narrow rock crevices and echoing throughout the valley.

The fireflies on the stone wall were startled at the same moment.

They took flight, and tens of thousands of fireflies transformed into an inverted galaxy, soaring from the stone wall into the night sky. They hovered for a moment before scattering in all directions.

Like countless shooting stars falling.

In the blink of an eye, that vibrant, colorful map vanished completely.

Only one ancient engraved pattern remains on the stone wall.

Tang Xixue and Si Xingxuan sighed almost simultaneously.

"Luckily, I looked carefully just now."

The two spoke in unison, then looked at each other and relaxed.

She could memorize it after just one glance, and he knew it by heart; neither of them missed a single detail.

"What happened? Did the snakes get startled?"

Si Xingxuan frowned slightly and subconsciously took a step forward to block Tang Xixue.

His figure was still slender, and his light blue robes fluttered slightly in the wind, but at that moment the aura emanating from him was completely different from before.

Like a sharp blade veiled by a thin veil, suddenly revealing a corner of its edge.

His gaze swept toward the exit of the narrow passage, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

At the exit of the narrow passage, countless venomous snakes surged out like a tide.

They scrambled to escape in all directions, as if some terrifying being was closing in from behind.

Some snakes even crashed into the stone wall in their panic, bounced off the ground, rolled over, and continued to flee for their lives.

Those scarlet snake eyes were filled with fear.

Si Xingxuan's fingertips curled slightly, silently hidden in her sleeve.

The figure of Ghost Doctor Jiu Fangzhi strode out from the darkness, his black robe as dark as ink.

His breathing was slightly heavier than usual, clearly indicating that he had been traveling at a brisk pace.

Ice Ghost coiled around his shoulder, its deep blue snake eyes flashing with cold light. The dragon's might that had frightened away thousands of snakes just now emanated from it.

Jiu Fangzhi's gaze fell on Tang Xixue.

He saw her standing there unharmed, and his tense nerves relaxed a little.

A hint of relief flashed across his cold eyes.

"Junior Sister! You're here, thank goodness..."

He stepped forward, his voice low and urgent, then abruptly stopped halfway through his sentence.

He wanted to say, "Thank goodness you're alright," but the words felt too blunt, so he swallowed them back.

"Senior brother."

Tangxi Xuejian Jiu Fangzhi had already approached, so she nodded slightly to him in greeting.

"Master, have you not seen your disciple?"

Si Xingxuan spoke, his tone carrying a hint of indifferent resentment.

He's such a big, living person standing here, and his master doesn't react at all?

Is this appropriate?

"Yes, I see it. It's quite an eyesore."

Jiu Fangzhi responded indifferently, his eyes filled with undisguised disdain.

"Oh—so Master saw me. I thought Master's eyesight was failing."

Si Xingxuan's smile grew even brighter.

"I was thinking of treating you. After all, Master is getting old and can't compare to us young people."

Jiu Fangzhi narrowed his eyes slightly behind the silver mask.

"You unfilial disciple. You should mind your own business! You're so young, yet your health is already failing."

Tang Xixue stood aside, listening to the master and apprentice bickering back and forth, and couldn't help but chuckle.

It was supposed to be a reunion of master and disciple, but it was like two foxes showing off their claws to each other.

"Do you and your master always do this when you meet?"

She asked with a smile.

"It's always the same."

Si Xingxuan answered first.

"Thanks to him."

Jiu Fangzhi added a coldly.

They both opened their mouths at the same time, then closed them at the same time, and then looked away simultaneously.

Tang Xixue chuckled softly.

This master and apprentice pair are truly... a master and apprentice on the opposing side.

Bingyou leaped lightly from Jiufangzhi's shoulder, transforming into a streak of ice-blue light, and landed gracefully in Tangxixue's hand.

It coiled up in her cool palm, its dark blue scales radiating a soft light, and its snake eyes blinked obediently.

The dragon's might that had frightened away thousands of snakes had been completely suppressed, and it now appeared docile and harmless.

It gently touched Tang Xixue's fingertips, as if to say, "I've found you, that's wonderful."

Tang Xixue lowered her head, her fingertips gently brushing against the icy, cool scales, and smiled gently:

"Bingyou, we meet again. You were quite imposing just now."

Bingyou immediately buried her head in her palm, looking very obedient.

The silver dragon whiskers of the Wind and Snow Star Seeker on her wrist quietly peeked out, and a pair of silver dragon eyes emerged from her sleeve, gazing at Bingyou.

Throughout the journey, Xingmi obediently concealed her dragon might, keeping a low profile even more inconspicuous than the silver bracelet.

Bingyou used her dragon's might to intimidate the snake horde in order to find Tangxi Xue as quickly as possible, which led to this scene.

"Oh dear, thanks to Master, otherwise we wouldn't be able to see this map below."

Si Xingzhou said in a sarcastic tone.

"Junior Sister, have I caused you any trouble?"

Jiu Fangzhi's voice was several degrees softer than when he spoke to Si Xingxuan earlier.

His eyes were calm and serious, with a hint of barely perceptible guilt.

He was only focused on finding his junior sister as soon as possible and hadn't had time to think about anything else.

Tang Xixue shook her head, her tone gentle and calm.

"No, it's my senior brother who arrived late and missed another view on this stone wall."

"It's alright, it's not too late."

Jiu Fangzhi didn't care about those things. He felt it wasn't too late to find his junior sister before Fengxiao Pavilion Master.

"Junior Sister, you don't mind if Senior Brother accompanies you on the journey ahead, do you?"

He asked.

He rarely asks to travel with others.

The Ghost Doctor is used to being alone, and over the years, apart from having Si Xingxuan, this wretched child, he has almost never taken the initiative to get close to anyone.

But at this moment, looking into his junior sister's clear, starry eyes, he was afraid she would reject him.

Tang Xixue looked at him and nodded.

"OK."

Jiu Fangzhi didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

But the fingertips of his hand, which was hanging by his side, slowly loosened.

"If the three of us from Divine Medicine Valley join forces, we will surely be able to pass through the Glazed Heaven."

Tang Xixue turned around.

Let's go!