Chapter 414: Soul Threefold (Part Two)

Creak, creak, the oars rang clearly.

On this pitch‑black night, the dead old man rowed the bottomless little boat, drifting slowly across the boundless sea.

Darkness always brings unease.

Thus, Feng Qingyu decided to cast a spell, adding a sliver of light to the boat.

A blue glow lit up at her fingertips, illuminating the boat and the surrounding sea.

"Ah!"

Everyone shouted in unison.

Around the boat floated rows of snow‑white bones, each swarmed by black poisonous snakes that constantly flicked crimson tongues at the vessel.

Feng Qingyu's fingers trembled, and the glow vanished.

The boat fell silent again, only the creaking oar sounds echoing in the night sky.

They endured the night in torment.

At dawn, the boat docked beside a circular reef.

It was a small sand reef, only a few hundred square meters, its golden beach stretching into the sea.

At the reef's center lay a tiny lagoon, trumpet‑shaped and bottomless.

When everyone leapt from the boat, the boatman turned the bow, rowed, and vanished in an instant within the dawn's glow.

They stared at each other again.

"Fairy Tang Yunxi, what do we do now?"

It was Feng Qingyu who spoke.

As the senior sister of the Horizon Sea Pavilion, besides Tang Yunxi, she is the big boss.

Tang Yunxi gave no answer.

Although her cultivation is profound, her Dao techniques strong, and she wields the magical treasure Bull Fork, she has never encountered such a bizarre incident.

All along, Zhang Xingyu has been making the decisions; she only needs to act like a pampered bird.

Feng Qingyu sighed at the sight.

The team needs a wolf king, but that wolf king has been abandoned by them.

"Rest here!"

Feng Qingyu issued the most suitable order for the situation.

Their nerves were taut all night; everyone was so sleepy their eyelids drooped.

Although the cultivators' soul energy was abundant, staying up all night still harms the body. Especially the ladies, whose orbital skin darkened twice as much as usual.

They sat on the soft sand, basking in the warm morning sun, drowsiness striking, yawns filling the air.

Finally, someone could no longer resist lying down. Moments later, a whole stretch of the beach was occupied. Snoring rose and fell, dream‑talk fragmented.

I can't sleep; I must go find Xingyu.

Tang Yunxi strained to open her eyes, but everything was blurry; a voice kept whispering in her mind, "Sleep, sleep, my dear baby..."

Tang Yunxi finally lay on the sand.

In the dream, she was led to a resplendent golden palace. In its center, a flock of chirping women surrounded Zhang Xingyu, acting cute and coquettish.

Tang Yunxi, frantic, shouted, "Let go of that boy."

Unfortunately, no one paid her any heed.

In the crowd, Zhang Xingyu had a witch in his left hand and a fairy in his right, utterly delighted.

"Zhang Xingyu, get out right now," Tang Yunxi roared like a He Dong lion.

Unfortunately, Zhang Xingyu neither emerged nor showed any reaction.

"You bastard!" Tang Yunxi fumed, stamping her foot.

Gu Yunyao also fell onto the sand.

Her dream was fragrant and sweet.

In a massive cavern, yam and pork rib soup steamed, while senior brothers and sisters seated around stared at a sand jar, eyes full of anticipation.

At that moment, a handsome young man entered from the cave mouth, holding a large porcelain bowl, and shouted at her, "Gu Yunyao, your yam and pork rib soup is my favorite; I'll have a big bowl later."

"Zhang Xingyu?"

Gu Yunyao recognized the man.

"Zhang Xingyu, there's only one jar of yam and pork rib soup; you're using such a big bowl—do you intend to drink it all yourself?"

"Exactly, exactly. Junior sister Yunyao, Zhang Xingyu is your Dao companion; just keep him from coming and stealing the soup from us!"

"He is my Dao companion?"

Gu Yunyao's pretty face flushed bright red.

She lowered her head, covered her face, and pulled Zhang Xingyu out of the cave.

When Gu Yunyao awoke, the others were still dreaming.

Everyone was having their own dreams, muttering their own sleep talk.

Gu Yunyao thought they would wake soon, but after waiting three days, none of them awoke.

She was anxious, her brows tightly knit; she was worried, crying unabated.

Just as she felt lost and helpless, a melodious song rose to her ears.

"Yesterday was like the eastward flowing water, drifting away from me, cannot be retained; today it disturbs my heart, many worries; cutting water with a knife makes it flow more, raising a cup to dispel sorrow only deepens it, tomorrow the clear wind will drift four ways..."

Gu Yunyao looked up. In the sunlight, a small boat was slowly sailing toward the sand reef.

At the bow stood a handsome young man in white, eyes bright, face like jade, his sash fluttering. In his left hand he cradled a pink sun, in his right a battered oar, golden time flowing in his eyes. Above his head a golden auspicious cloud swirled with flashing lightning, phoenixes soaring, golden dragons coiling.

"Zhang Xingyu?"

For a moment, Gu Yuyiao was stunned.

The small boat reached the sandbank. Zhang Xingyu leapt off, reached out to pull the wrecked boat onto the beach, then walked slowly up to Gu Yuyiao.

"Fate brings us together across a thousand miles. May I ask the fairy's gracious name?" Zhang Xingyu asked, clasping his fists.

Gu Yuyiao was taken aback.

"Fairy sister, I am Zhang Xingyu. May I hear your gracious name?" Zhang Xingyu asked again.

"Zhang Xingyu?" Gu Yuyiao murmured softly.

"Yes, Zhang of the long bow, the 'star' of stars, the 'speech' of speech. I am new to this land; I ask the fairy sister to look after me!" Zhang Xingyu said, clasping his fists again.

"Zhang Xingyu, you don't recognize me?" Gu Yuyiao asked, staring at him.

"I am new here… uh, I've admired the fairy sister for a long time. Though this is our first meeting, our souls have been connected for ages, for ages," Zhang Xingyu said, changing his words as Gu Yuyiao spoke.

Could this AI NPC be the highest tier?

Zhang Xingyu sighed inwardly. This damned xianxia game is too realistic; it makes me feel like I'm talking to a real person when I chat with NPCs. One day, I'll surely go schizophrenic.

"Zhang Xingyu, I am Gu Yuyiao. You really don't remember me? We are spiritual companions!" Gu Yuyiao said with teary eyes.

"Gu Yuyiao? Nice name. Wait, what did you say? We're spiritual companions?" Zhang Xingyu widened his eyes.

Gu Yuyiao nodded lightly.

"Great! Heaven smiles, no, my virtue has exploded. Just playing a game for fun, and I get a free fairy as a spiritual companion. Wow, her looks, her figure, her voice…" Zhang Xingyu gestured excitedly.

Gu Yuyiao's face was full of anxiety. Her husband was mentally unwell, apparently suffering from soul‑separation syndrome. He didn't recognize her; what could she do?

After being excited for a while, Zhang Xingyu finally remembered the fairy he had picked up was still waiting nearby.

He stepped forward and tightly grasped Gu Yuyiao's hands: "My dear wife, I miss you so much!"

These small hands were beautiful, delicate and soft, fingers as white as scallions.

He couldn't help but bring his mouth close.

"Zhang Xingyu!"

Before his lips touched the hand, a lion‑like roar suddenly rang in his ears.

Zhang Xingyu's hands trembled.

After a moment, he looked back and muttered, "Damn it, who's roaring at me?"

He turned his head, his gaze landing on a pair of fire‑spitting eyes.

They were beautiful cinnabar phoenix eyes, the graceful arcs outlining a perfect contour, the clear transparent pupils like two springs. If only the arched eyebrows above weren't inverted, they'd be flawless.

His gaze dropped to a delicate, upright jade‑like nose. He thought: What a flawless nose, surely ten thousand times more beautiful than those celebrity noses that have had rhinoplasty in Korea.

Reluctantly moving his eyes from the tip of the nose, his sight refocused on the flame‑like red lips.

He couldn't help but lightly lick his tongue. He thought he wanted to kiss it.

He lingered on that cherry‑small mouth for a long while before his gaze finally dropped.

Curvy and supple, fitting perfectly in one hand.

Dead, dead.

In the game, how can there be such a beautiful woman?

Which damned designer created such a beautiful female NPC?

It's over, it's over, I'm going to be addicted.

His eyes glowed, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

At that moment, a sharp pain shot from his waist.

Tang Yunxi grabbed the fat around his waist and roared viciously, "I'll make you fickle, I'll make you fickle!"