When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

Chu Xianlan closed her eyes, her heart pounding.

In the past, it was always his master who sorted out his consciousness, and he had never stepped into the other's sea of ​​consciousness before. For him, it was a completely unfamiliar place.

Yi Chen's cultivation level was far superior to his, so this move was extremely risky.

If his master, in a state of confusion, mistook him for an enemy and attempted to attack and engulf his consciousness, he would likely have no chance to resist.

But there was no time to worry about that anymore.

A pale golden light enveloped his consciousness, enveloping it layer by layer as Chu Xianlan mentally prepared himself for an impact powerful enough to tear his soul apart.

Yet, when the scene before my eyes appeared, I was momentarily dazed.

The sea of ​​consciousness is a reflection of one's true nature.

Different cultivators, different scenery. But according to common sense, the higher the cultivation level, the more stable the soul, and the more boundless the sea of ​​consciousness, enough to contain countless Daoist principles and bear thousands of years of cultivation.

Chu Xianlan had imagined countless times what Yi Chen's sea of ​​consciousness must look like. Her master was as majestic and lonely as an immortal throughout his life, and he cultivated the supreme Dao. With his Dao realm and cultivation, there must be a vast world in his sea of ​​consciousness.

Can……

There are no vast mountains and rivers, no boundless fairyland, and no magnificent and spectacular scenery.

White walls and gray tiles, courtyard, long corridor.

Everything was exactly the same as the Jade Capital Pavilion in my memory.

He... went home.

Soft sunlight streamed down, and she could even smell the delicate fragrance of flowers in the courtyard. Chu Xianlan was deeply shaken, feeling everything around her in disbelief, her emotions beyond words.

The peerless Immortal Lord Jixue in the eyes of the world, whose soul should have been as vast as the ocean, actually only had such a small world within it.

No wonder he was able to get here without any hindrance.

In the past, when Chu Xianlan missed the Taiyi Sect, she would always silently say in her heart, "Where my master is, that is where my home is."

He took it upon himself to make Yi Chen his final resting place, never imagining that his words would come true in this way. It turns out... his words really did come true in the dark.

Chu Xianlan wiped her sore eyes, mustered her strength, and took a few steps forward. Suddenly, she was met with a torrent of memories—

In an instant, his consciousness was pulled into another space.

The night was deep, the pear trees in the courtyard were in full bloom, and in the distance, lights were dim, as if some kind of banquet was being held, with laughter coming from time to time.

It looks familiar.

Chu Xianlan was puzzled when she turned her head and saw a white figure standing silently under the pear tree.

...Master?

Where is this place? Why does Master look so bad?

Before Chu Xianlan's consciousness could land beside Yi Chen, a heart-wrenching, sorrowful voice of a young man rang out from the direction of the artificial rockery:

"—Senior brother, do you... have feelings for Immortal Lord Jixue?!"

Chu Xianlan's body trembled.

That voice... Qu, Qu Ling!?

Chu Xianlan finally realized why the face looked familiar. She slowly opened her mouth, recalling the fear of being dominated by the little healer. Her expression was a mix of emotions.

This place is clearly the Taiyi Sect!

Memories flooded back. Back then, Qu Ling, for some reason, insisted that he was in love with his master, listing various reasons to prove that he was a rebellious disciple with a tragic love story, thus launching a bizarre confrontation that shocked everyone's values.

...Could it be...that Master heard all those words spoken back then...?

No way...

Slowly turning her head to look at her master, Chu Xianlan felt a thunderous roar in her mind.

On the other end, the demonic sound continued:

"It's not what you think, Junior Brother Qu. I have a deep feeling for Master..."

"Senior brother, don't explain! I know this feeling is hard to express, and I know it goes against morality, but there's nothing wrong with liking someone!"

"You argued fiercely with the Fourth Prince to prevent the Immortal Lord from accepting other disciples. To prove you were worthy of the Immortal Lord, you even dared to step onto the arena! Also, those storybooks that Senior Brother secretly hid were all about forbidden love stories between master and disciple! Every time the Immortal Lord appeared in front of you, Senior Brother's eyes could no longer see anyone else; his heart and soul were only for you. Anyway, I understand now..."

Chu Xianlan: "..."

Watching helplessly as Yi Chen extended a hand from his spotless sleeve, his index finger knuckle resting against his lips, his cold, jade-like expression was replaced by an increasingly blank stare...

crazy.

Seriously, I'm going crazy.

The sea of ​​consciousness stores the memories of cultivators. This scene cannot be faked; it is a fragment of the master's memory. Therefore... at that time, the master stood not far away and listened to the entire unbearable conversation!

On the verge of collapse, Chu Xianlan took a deep breath. Later, he categorically denied all of this to Qu Ling. That's right! It was just a misunderstanding. His master is a strict person, so he should have heard the latter part of the clarification, right...?

After a long while, there was still no sound from the artificial hill.

"..."

Then he realized why there was no sound—because! He had been gagged by Jin Ling!

Chu Xianlan almost knelt down and cried. Just now she had wanted her master to leave quickly, and now she longed for him to stay.

Yi Chen lowered his eyes slightly.

Her long eyelashes concealed the complex emotions in her eyes. She pursed her lips, flicked her sleeve, and turned away in the deathly silence.

Gazing at that snow-white figure, Chu Xianlan's face paled even more than his clothes, and she tremblingly raised her hand—Come back! Master!

Come back and listen to the rest before you leave!

Chu Xianlan wished she could just smash her head against a wall and die; her divine sense frantically circled around Yi Chen!

So from the very beginning... long before they left the Taiyi Sect, their master had accidentally learned of a huge misunderstanding, and he himself was even smug about it at the time—thankfully, no one else heard it...

It turns out that the third person was the person in question himself.

Fate plays a cruel trick on this rebellious scoundrel!

Suddenly, the light and shadow shifted.

Chu Xianlan's vision blurred and she was transported to another scene of memory. The hazy moonlight shone on the bottom of the cliff, and with a "creak" as a branch was broken, two figures blurred and overlapped in front of her.

It was still him and his master.

Chu Xianlan was slightly stunned, wondering why he had no recollection of this scene at all. Just as he was thinking this, he heard a silly laugh, and his own voice suddenly rang out:

"Master, your eyes... are so beautiful."

They were both obsessed with it and cherished it, as if they had obtained a treasure that was unique in the world.

Then, the treacherous disciple reached out and stroked his master's cheeks repeatedly, behaving like a shameless lecher.

Oh my goodness.

In the eerie atmosphere, one nonsensical compliment after another popped up. Chu Xianlan could hardly believe that the crazy person who was touching and praising her master was herself?

People really can't empathize with their past selves.

Right, it was around that time... He had a fierce battle with Qiao Yu and accidentally fell off a cliff. His master saved him and even tied him to the Life-Binding Gu.

Chu Xianlan swallowed, tiptoed to the two of them, and squatted down with her knees drawn up to her chest.

The disciple's subsequent remarks became increasingly outrageous.

"But you don't know, my dreams are filled with you..."

"I can't tell anyone about this, I have no way to tell anyone. Even if I did, no one would believe me. I've been thinking about you a lot lately. I've tried, I've tried to change things, I've tried many methods, but I can't do it. I can only keep it to myself... thinking about it over and over again."

"..." Shut your mouth!

Chu Xianlan wished she could sew her mouth shut.

He knew he was talking about precognitive dreams, but anyone who heard that would probably misunderstand it; what difference was there between that and confessing his feelings on the spot!

I can't even imagine what kind of disciple he was in his master's eyes back then.

Under the moonlight, Yi Chen's eyes flickered, his expression changing several times as he listened solemnly and silently to all the rebellious thoughts in his mind:

"...Is it really impossible to let go?"

Chu Xianlan heard herself say, "No. Master, this is the one thing I will never give up on!"

"..." Yi Chen was bewildered, a hint of helplessness spreading across his eyes.

The nonsensical conversation made Chu Xianlan so embarrassed that her toes curled up, and she cried out in her heart: Why are you still chatting with Master back and forth!

What he couldn't understand was why his master had never mentioned these things to him, nor had he ever reprimanded him for his disrespectful words and actions at the time!

...Just how much patience does Master have?!

Now that things have come to this, Chu Xianlan finally realizes a terrible truth.

Based on all his previous words and actions, one misunderstanding cleverly led to another. In the eyes of his master, he was probably no different from a crazy suitor!