Chapter 1851: Qin Yi (Side Story)!!

Qin Yi (Side Story)!!

Qin Tianwang Meridian, Water Lotus Hall.

Spring rain fell like threads, slanting across the eaves of the halls, dropping into the clear lotus pond before the palace, stirring fine ripples.

On the pond surface, a thousand white lotuses stood tall and pure, raindrops rolling on their petals, glowing with a faint silver sheen in the daylight.

Qin Yi wore a moonlit azure gown, standing still by the lotus pond, her black hair flowing like a waterfall over her shoulders, the tips damp with a few beads of rain, yet in no way diminishing her icy, otherworldly aura.

Gazing at her reflection in the pond, that face praised as "The Number One Beauty of Yuanyuan"

remained exquisitely pure and transcendent, though the sharpness and aloofness of her youth had faded from her brows, replaced by a calm serenity and gentleness born of worldly experience.

Her fingertip lightly brushed the pond surface, a thread of gentle water qi surged forth, lifting several fallen raindrops into her palm, condensing into a crystal-clear water bead, as if recalling the Long Qichi of years past, when she first saw Li Luo there, her eyes holding that untouched clarity untainted by the mundane.

It has been over ten years since then.

Still remembered that day at the Dragon Blood Grand Longevity celebration, the Li family of Xia City hung lanterns and decorations, guests filling the gates.

She accompanied her mother Qin Lian to the feast; at that time she was already the leading figure of the younger generation of the Qin Tianwang lineage, commanding the Fire Lotus Battalion without defeat, and the beauty of her epithet "Immortal of the Narcissus"

spread throughout Yuanyuan Outer Shenzhou.

Among her peerless heavenly talents, none failed to show awe and admiration upon seeing her, except for that boy named Li Luo, who, amidst the crowd's adoring gazes, seemed somewhat out of place. He wore a simple green robe, his brows and eyes holding a touch of youthful inexperience, yet concealing a composure beyond his years.

When Li Qingfeng proposed the "Lotus Contest"

, she deliberately offered ten million tianyuan gold as bait, inviting him to pluck the Jade Heart Lotus Seeds, expecting to see him either flattered and startled or embarrassed and flustered, but he merely smiled faintly, his words polite yet his attitude firm in refusal.

"I appreciate Fairy Qin's kindness, but my cultivation is lowly; I fear I cannot bear this task, lest I damage your fortune."

At that time, she felt disdain in her heart.

The Qin Tianwang and Li Tianwang lineages have long had rifts; her mother had also repeatedly warned her to watch this generation of heavenly talents from the Li family.

In her eyes, Li Luo was merely an unremarkable junior among the Li clan's many descendants, even if rumors said he bore dual affinities, to her—having inherited the Qin Tianwang legacy, rigorously trained since childhood as a direct heavenly talent—he was no more than a firefly beside the bright moon, not worth mentioning.

She invited him to act merely to test his depths and incidentally blunt the sharpness of the Li juniors, never imagining that this seemingly ordinary boy would, in the not-so-distant Mystic Yellow Long Qichi, give her an unforgettable shock for life.

Inside the Long Qichi, mystic yellow qi steamed and rose, peerless heavenly talents each displayed their divine abilities, contending for the rare nourishment of dragon qi.

She activated the "Spirit Mirror Water Palace"

, waves surged to the heavens, the spirit mirror hung high, easily suppressing Li Qingfeng, Lu Qingmei, and several other banner chiefs, fully displaying sovereign majesty.

Just as she thought victory was within grasp, Li Luo moved. He unleashed the Wind-Thunder Banana Fan, the fan surface howling with wind and thunder, the seemingly ordinary attack concealing a strand of star-river sword qi condensed to the utmost.

That sword qi, like a meteor piercing the long night, bore an unstoppable sharpness, successively breaking her "Myriad Thread Water Kill"

"Black Tortoise Shield Mountain"

, and finally piercing through her pride, the "Flawless Water Jade Body"

, sending her retreating several steps, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

At that moment, the light of the Spirit Mirror Water Palace dimmed, and the Long Qichi fell into silence.

She stared at Li Luo's seemingly ordinary banana fan in his hand, her heart filled with disbelief.

She clearly felt that the power contained in that sword qi far exceeded the limits of peers her age, even allowing her to faintly sense a trace of the pressure of a superior being.

What made her heart pound even more was the calm in Li Luo's eyes—not feigned composure, but true assurance.

"Just how many hidden cards do you still hold?"

She couldn't help but ask, her voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor.

Li Luo merely put away the banana fan, clasped his hands toward her in a salute, his tone still gentle: "Fairy Qin's strength is formidable; I am merely fortunate." Fortunate? Qin Yi smirked coldly in her heart, yet could not deny that at that moment, Li Luo was like a rising star, already possessing the light to illuminate the night sky.

She first realized she might have underestimated this seemingly ordinary boy.

And this underestimation was again confirmed later in the Spirit Phase Cave Heaven.

Inside the Spirit Phase Cave Heaven, dangers lurked everywhere.

By her mother's order, she was to take a piece of Li Luo's flesh, yet she unexpectedly encountered him in the great hall.

At that time he was alone, precisely the right moment to strike; she hesitated not, activating water phase and launching a fierce assault.

But in the exchange, she discovered that Li Luo's strength had made astonishing progress since the Long Qichi, and even more shocking was that his water phase actually concealed a hidden light auxiliary phase.

Light and water phase merged, mutually enhancing, their power far surpassing that of a single affinity.

The longer she fought, the more her heart trembled; her offensive gradually eased, for she keenly sensed that Li Luo's body still hid even more terrifying trump cards, that subtle aura making her dare not go all out lightly.

And Li Luo seemed likewise to have sensed her reservations, his attacks similarly held back.

"If we fight to the death today, we will only both lose, letting others reap the benefit."

Li Luo stopped his steps, speaking calmly: Qin Yi gazed at his clear eyes, her heart a tangle of five flavors.

She knew he spoke the truth; within the Spirit Phase Cave Heaven, powerful enemies surrounded them, and strange beings lurked hidden—mutual destruction would hardly be wise.

Finally, she snorted coldly, withdrew her divine abilities: "For today, I shall spare you; next time we meet, I will surely take your life."

Though she said so, her heart no longer held even a trace of contempt.

She began to wonder what fate this boy had encountered, enabling him to grow to such a degree in such a short time.

He differed from the heavenly talents surrounding her, who either coveted her beauty or revered her status and strength; only Li Luo, from beginning to end, maintained a respect of equality, neither deliberately ingratiating nor deliberately hostile.

In the Spirit Phase Treasure Garden, the first Soul-Eating True Demon attacked, sealing everyone in blood coffins.

At the critical moment, she damaged her own essence blood, performing "Water Moon Cave Heaven: Nine Bends Heavenly Water"

, to buy time for Li Luo.

When she saw Li Luo use the "Myriad Phase Dragon Fang Sword Formation"

to slay the true demon, the surge in her heart was no longer jealousy, but an indescribable shock and admiration.

She faintly felt that this boy's future must be limitless. Only then could she not shake off the constraints of family and her mother's expectations.

She was the direct heavenly talent of the Qin Tianwang lineage, bearing on her shoulders the family's honor, disgrace, rise and fall; all things must come first for the family's benefit.

Mother Qin Lian had placed great hopes in her; the strict upbringing had made her accustomed to burying emotions deep in her heart—whether her curiosity and admiration for Li Luo, or the occasional flicker of strange feeling, she forcibly suppressed them.

The disaster in the Jiehe Region became the turning point of her life.

She personally witnessed her mother Qin Lian being eroded by evil thoughts, turned into a killing machine; the once dignified mother became grotesque, personally slaughtering the Qin clan.

At that moment, her world collapsed with a boom.

She rushed forward without regard for herself, even though her lower abdomen was pierced by chains, she had to perform the "Soul-Returning Water"

, attempting to awaken her mother's consciousness.

"Mother! Wake up! I am Yi'er!"

She cried out hoarsely, her blood staining her moonlit blue dress red, also blurring her vision.

Fortunately, the Soul-Returning Water took effect, and Qin Lian regained a trace of clarity.

In that brief moment of lucidity, she learned that her mother had been secretly implanted with a demon seed by the Demon King years ago, and understood the harshness and severity of her mother's demeanor over the years, and what pain and helplessness lay behind it. In the end, to protect her, her mother shielded her beneath the black feathered wings, then was completely consumed by runaway evil thoughts and finally died at Li Luo's hands.

Watching her mother die before her eyes, watching Qin Nine Tribulations betray the Qin clan, watching Abyss City sink, the Black Water Guard nearly annihilated, Qin Yi's heart filled with despair and helplessness.

But it was precisely at that moment that she understood her own responsibility.

Her mother was gone, the Qin clan faced an unprecedented crisis, she had to step forward and uphold this tempest-tossed world.

She inherited the "Fire Lotus Hall"

, renamed it the Water Lotus Hall, and took up the mantle of the Qin Tianwang lineage.

She inherited the "Holy Seed of Water"

, day and night studying formations, manipulating the "Spring Rain Purifies Evil Formation"

, turning spring rain into black rain to minimize the Qin clan's losses in the alien tide.

The once naive water fairy who only knew to obey her mother's orders and show off her sharpness, grew up overnight.

She restrained all her fragility and confusion, with a resilient demeanor, becoming the master of the Qin Tianwang lineage, leading the Qin clan's defense system, sheltering the clansmen from wind and rain.

For the survival of the Qin clan, she opposed all opinions, pushed for an alliance between the Qin clan and the Li Tianwang lineage. When she saw Li Luo again, he was already a peerless sixth-rank marquis, standing beside him was the equally radiant Jiang Qinge.

His cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, long having left his peers far behind, even making the older generation's strong ones treat him with three parts of reverence.

And she, although she had also broken through to the Great Heavenly Phenomenon realm, becoming the core of the Qin Tianwang lineage, but compared to Li Luo, the gap was already like a heavenly chasm.

In private meetings, she handed over the formation of the "Spring Rain Divine Formation" to Li Luo, informing him of the Qin clan's "Alliance with Zhao Against Li" policy.

She gazed at the youth before her, now steady in demeanor and inwardly splendid, the long-suppressed feelings in her heart once again stirred faintly.

"Li Luo, thank you for your help back then in the Spirit Phenomenon Cave Heaven."

She spoke softly, her voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor.

Li Luo, upon hearing this, was slightly startled, then smiled gently: "Hall Master Qin is too courteous; back then it was merely mutual benefit, helping each other."

His tone remained gentle, yet carried a kind of distant courtesy.

Qin Yi felt a pang in her heart; she knew that between them, there was now too much separating them.

Family grudges, the gap in status, and moreover, the woman standing beside him, Jiang Qinge. She clearly remembered that when the Qin clan proposed a marriage alliance, she had refused without hesitation.

"Li Luo's heart belongs only to Miss Jiang; between him and me, we are merely chance acquaintances."

She said this to Qin Zhongyuan, her tone calm, yet her heart welled up with waves of bitterness.

She did not dislike Li Luo; on the contrary, this fondness had taken deep root in her heart through repeated encounters and clashes.

She liked his composure, liked his jade-like warmth, liked his fearless advance against strong foes, and even more liked his equality and respect unlike other pursuers.

But she understood that this fondness was destined to bear no fruit.

Li Luo's world was too vast; he bore the heavy responsibility of saving Outer Shenzhou, and by his side was Jiang Qinge, such a perfect companion; they were a match made in heaven, having endured countless storms together, supporting each other, their hearts in tune.

And she was merely a passerby in his life, a former opponent, and now an ally who needed to rely on alliance to maintain the clan's survival.

She carefully hid this feeling deep in her heart, like a lotus seed in the depths of a lotus pond, unknown to anyone.

She poured all her energy into the Qin clan's affairs, toiling day and night, only so that the clansmen could live in peace in this chaotic world.

She nourished the Qin clan's territory with the power of the Holy Seed of Water, guarded a stretch of land and water with the Spring Rain Purifies Evil Formation, and became the firmest backing of the Qin Tianwang lineage.

She nourished the Qin family's domain with the power of the Water Saint Seed, guarding the land and waters with the Spring Rain Purification Array, becoming the strongest backing of the Qin Tianwang lineage.