Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

The spicy yet mellow liquid slid down his throat, and a warm sensation quickly spread through his chest and abdomen. As he drank, he caught a glimpse of Xuan Yi staring at him nervously out of the corner of his eye, as if to confirm whether he was using any tricks to neutralize the effects of the alcohol.

Su Baichen chuckled inwardly, and decided to relax and let the effects of the alcohol take hold.

Seeing that Su Baichen was indeed drinking honestly without using his fighting spirit, Xuan Yi revealed a sly smile of triumph. Feeling relieved, she also raised her wine jar and, imitating Su Baichen, took a big gulp. The clear wine tasted sweeter than honey to her.

Xuan Yi's inner thoughts at this moment: "Tonight is the last chance!"

"With him leaving tomorrow, the mountains and rivers will be vast, and who knows when we will meet again."

"This blockhead! When it comes to confessing your feelings, the guy should be the one to take the initiative. Am I, the girl, supposed to be the one to speak first? That would be so embarrassing!"

"We've known each other for so many years, and we understand each other's feelings all along. He definitely likes me too, but he just won't confess! It's so frustrating!"

"Hmph, since that's the case, don't blame me for using some 'extraordinary means'."

"Tonight, I'm going to make you spill the truth while you're drunk, and ideally... ideally, we'll make it a fait accompli! Hehe, let's see where you can run now!"

Thinking of this, a blush rose on Xuan Yi's face, and she unconsciously drank faster, as if the wine was the source of her courage to achieve her wish.

Su Baichen's inner thoughts at this moment: "It's just that what I wanted came true. I was just worried about finding an excuse to be alone with her before leaving and say what's been on my mind, and she just delivered herself to my door."

"They even brought wine... This is a godsend! Good, it saves me from racking my brains for an opening line."

"It was my first time doing something like this, so I was a little nervous and shy. But the alcohol gave me the courage to say what I needed to say and do what I needed to do... well, I'll see how things go!"

Thinking about it this way, Su Baichen felt his heart race and a surge of heat coursing through his body, and his drinking became even more unrestrained.

Both were preoccupied with their own thoughts, yet they were perfectly in sync, neither using any of their fighting spirit to resist the effects of the alcohol. Jar after jar, the empty jars on the table grew increasingly numerous.

The Drunken Immortal Wine lived up to its name, with a powerful aftereffect. In less than half an hour, several jars of the fine wine were empty.

Su Baichen and Xuan Yi sat facing each other, their faces flushed with a captivating rosy glow, their eyes glazed over, and their breaths reeking of alcohol.

The strong effects of the alcohol constantly assaulted their reason, their consciousness flickering like a candle in the wind.

"Bai... Bai Chen".

Xuan Yi felt dizzy and weak. She forced herself to lean on the table, raised her blurry eyes, and looked at the blurry yet vivid figure opposite her. Her tongue was tied in knots as she said, "I...I have something to say to you."

Su Baichen's condition wasn't much better. He tried to focus his gaze and looked at the woman in black with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes. He felt that she was even more charming and beautiful than usual.

He shook his heavy head and replied with a slurred speech, "What a coincidence... Xuan Yi, I... me too, I also have something to say to you."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yi felt a surge of joy and anticipation, as if she had sobered up a bit. She struggled to maintain her last shred of clarity, and said softly, with an encouraging and urging tone, "Um... well, okay... you, you go first! You go first!"

She held her breath, her heart pounding, hoping to hear the words she had waited countless days and nights from Su Baichen's mouth.

"Okay... I'll go first!"

Su Baichen took a deep breath, as if using all his strength, and stood up unsteadily. He placed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and stared intently into Xuan Yi's mesmerizing eyes. He spoke, word by word, clearly yet clumsily:

"Xuan Yi! I...I like you! I like you so much...so much!"

I've liked you... I've liked you for years!

These few words seemed to drain all his courage. After speaking, Su Baichen felt as if his face was on fire, and even the roots of his ears turned bright red.

This was the first time in his two lifetimes that he had so openly confessed his feelings to the woman he admired.

In his past life, he was a reclusive person who had never even held a girl's hand. In the end, when it comes to relationships, Su Baichen is still a simple and clumsy silly boy at heart.

In this life, he actually said it! He, Su Baichen, confessed to Xuan Yi, whom he had secretly loved for so long!

Chapter 7 Leaving the Dan Tower

The moment Xuan Yi heard these words, an indescribable, immense joy washed over her, like a warm current, instantly dispelling all her tension, anticipation, and unease, filling her entire being.

A radiant, blissful smile immediately bloomed on her face, but tears welled up uncontrollably and slid down her rosy cheeks.

"You...you idiot! You blockhead!"

Xuan Yi laughed and cried at the same time, her voice choked with sobs, filled with boundless grievance and the joy of finally being relieved: "You finally... finally said those words to me! Do you know... do you know how long I've been waiting for you to say those words?"

"You've made me wait so long... Su Baichen!"

As she spoke, she couldn't help but stand up and stumble towards Su Baichen.

Su Baichen was also deeply moved. He opened his arms and embraced the person he had waited for and missed for so long tightly.

"I'm sorry, I should have confessed my feelings to you sooner. I was timid, it was my fault, and I made you wait so long."

As he spoke, Su Baichen wiped away the tears from the corners of Xuan Yi's eyes and then kissed Xuan Yi on the forehead.

"Hmph, yes, it's all your fault."

As she spoke, Xuan Yi kept patting Su Baichen's chest with her small fists.

However, this dark robe also broke Su Baichen's last shred of reason.

The wine jar rolled to the ground with a crisp sound, but no one paid any attention. Amidst the room's aroma of wine, only their rapid heartbeats and the sobs of joyful tears remained.

The gentle moonlight cast long shadows of their embracing figures; tonight, they are destined to be sleepless.

…………

The following afternoon, Su Baichen, dressed in white, led Cao Ying to the inner hall where Xuan Kongzi usually practiced his cultivation.

Xuan Kongzi was facing a furnace of pills that were about to solidify, his hands forming a hand seal. When he saw the two people enter, especially Cao Ying behind Su Baichen, he knew their purpose.

He slowly dissipated the fighting energy in his hand, and the furnace fire calmed down. He turned around and smiled, "So eager to leave? Won't you stay a few more days?"

"No, my mind is at ease, it's time to get going," Su Baichen replied with a smile.

Xuan Kongzi stroked his beard, his gaze sweeping over Su Baichen with a hint of mockery as he lowered his voice and asked, "Baichen, are you really not going to wait for Xuanyi?"

"You just left like that, without even saying goodbye. Aren't you afraid that she'll find out later and find an excuse to give you a good 'punishment'? You know her temper best."

Upon hearing this, Su Baichen's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. In an instant, the image of Xuan Yi lying languidly and weakly in the quilt when he left the room this morning flashed through his mind. He could hardly lift his finger. His reproachful yet helpless gaze seemed to be right before his eyes.

He quickly coughed lightly to cover the fleeting smugness and guilt in his eyes, and waved his hand casually: "Uh, don't worry, it's alright. Xuan Yi... she is very righteous."

"Yes, that's true."

Xuan Kongzi, unsuspecting, nodded: "Given Xuan Yi's personality, at most she'll nag you a bit, but it'll pass. It's strange, though..."

He changed the subject, looking puzzled, and said, "She knew yesterday that you were leaving this afternoon. Logically, she should have come to see you off. This is not her usual practice."

Su Baichen felt his face burning slightly. The image of the "fierce battle" in his mind became clearer and clearer. The scene of Xuan Yi's last plea for mercy was so faint that it was barely audible. This made his heart warm, but it was then suppressed by an even greater sense of guilt.

He forced himself to calm down and explained in a more "sincere" tone, "Perhaps...perhaps something urgent came up and delayed me. It's alright, the thought is what counts."

Seeing that Su Baichen had said so, Xuan Kongzi, though still feeling a little strange, stopped dwelling on it. He looked at Su Baichen.

His expression turned serious, and he patted the other person's shoulder: "Bai Chen, be careful out there. Dan Tower will always be your home. Come back and visit often when you have time."

"Okay, I understand." Su Baichen nodded solemnly. "Senior, take care. We're leaving now!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already drawn his fingers like a sword and made a light slash in front of him.

Space was silently torn apart like brocade, revealing a deep rift.

Without further delay, he took Cao Ying's hand and stepped into the darkness. His figure was instantly swallowed by the darkness, and the rift quickly closed as if it had never existed.

The inner hall returned to calm, with only the faint crackling of the flames in the alchemy furnace remaining.

Xuan Kongzi stared at the spot where Su Baichen had disappeared, his brows slowly furrowing. He stopped stroking his beard and muttered to himself, "Something's not right. I still feel like something's off... Why did that kid's expression just now seem a bit... guilty? He ran way too fast, like he was afraid of being caught by something."

He carefully recalled every word and every glance Su Baichen had just given, but he couldn't figure out the key point. In the end, he could only shake his head and chuckle: "Never mind, young people have their own way of getting along. This old man won't try to figure it out."

……

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away from the Dan Tower, above a desolate valley, space rippled and a crack quietly appeared.

Su Baichen led Cao Ying out from the middle and landed steadily on the grass.

A mountain breeze blew by, bringing the fragrance of grass and trees, but he had no time to appreciate it. His brows furrowed slightly, and his sharp eyes swept across the surroundings. His powerful soul force spread out like a tide, sensing any possible probing.

"Master, what's wrong?" Cao Ying noticed his wariness and asked softly.

Su Baichen withdrew his probing gaze, looked at Cao Ying, and said directly, "Disciple, give me a few drops of your blood."

Although Cao Ying had doubts, she had absolute trust in Su Baichen and extended her slender finger without hesitation. Su Baichen gently traced a few drops of bright red blood on her fingertip, which floated in his palm.

At the same time, he flipped his other hand, and several palm-sized, exquisitely crafted paper puppets appeared in his palm.

He carefully injected his and Cao Ying's blood into several puppets.

The blood touched the paper and, as if alive, quickly seeped in, outlining faint blood-red patterns on the puppet's surface.

"go with!"

Su Baichen gave a low shout and waved his hand. The paper puppets seemed to be injected with life instantly, their eyes shining with a faint light, and their figures nimbly soaring into the air, like startled birds, rushing off in different directions such as east, west, south, north, southeast, and northeast, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Each puppet carried a trace of his and Cao Ying's unique aura, enough to fool the eye.

After doing all this, Su Baichen finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Cao Ying and whispered, "Alright, let's hide first. This trip might not be very peaceful, so it's always better to be cautious."

With that, he flicked his sleeve, and a gentle force enveloped the two of them. Their auras instantly became extremely concealed, and their figures became almost imperceptible. They then vanished from their spot and silently entered the space.

The valley was once again quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind, as if no one had ever been there.

Chapter 8 Tracking the Soul Palace

On the open ground, Su Baichen and Cao Ying's presence had vanished.

In the midst of this silence, the space not far away suddenly began to distort unnaturally, like a stone being thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.

Immediately afterwards, a pitch-black crack was forcibly torn open, and a chilling aura emanated from it.

Several figures dressed in wide black robes, their faces shrouded in the shadows of hoods, silently stepped out of the crevice.

Their robes were embroidered with eerie dark patterns, and they exuded a faint, deathly aura, making them completely out of place in this vibrant valley.

The leader, a tall man in black robes, stood still, his powerful soul perception spreading rapidly in all directions like an invisible spider web, carefully capturing every trace left in the air.

After a moment, he let out a deep groan, clearly displeased: "Well, can you tell which one is the real one?"

A man in black robes stepped forward from behind, his voice tinged with helplessness and awe: "Elder, the aura of the puppet created by Su Baichen is too realistic, almost indistinguishable from the original."

“His aura lingers in all directions, varying in strength but unpredictable. Your subordinate… your subordinate truly cannot discern it.”

"Hmph, the same old tricks again!"

The black-robed man, addressed as Elder, said in a chilling tone, "This kid is slippery; he always resorts to these underhanded tricks!"