Chapter 290

The two young ladies looked at each other.

But before they could make any sound, Li Li Piaoqing suddenly felt a chill in her heart. She turned her head abruptly; in the darkness of the room, a withered-wood-like figure sitting cross-legged was quietly turning its head toward her.

There was only a moment of stillness, and the battle erupted suddenly.

Li Li Piaoqing didn't even have time to judge the strength of the person in front of her, because her retreat had been blocked. If she didn't kill this person here, she would face the siege of the entire cave.

The Shicui sword rang out of its sheath. The young lady's sparrow shadow flashed in the field of vision, and she was already hovering before the green-clad person, a sword of emerald light slashing horizontally at the throat. The green-clad person's reaction was half a beat slow, but still arrived after the start. The hand wrapped in the large sleeve lifted to block the sword path, emitting a "clang" of gold and iron.

Li Li Piaoqing was shocked. Shicui touched the blade, which was hard, and the outline of the opponent's palm had already appeared in the dark color.

It was hard to say it looked like a human hand; the flesh seemed to have vanished, the bone structure was exposed abruptly, and amidst the ferocious sharpness, a layer of dense scales swept past with a dark blue luster.

The young lady's body stiffened for a moment; that sense of unreality gripped her soul again—what... was this thing?!

But the owner of this hand was not startled. The next moment, it clamped down and captured the young lady's thin sword. Sparks exploded into little fireworks in the pitch black. It exerted force and pulled, and the overwhelming power made the young lady lose her balance immediately. The next moment, her abdomen felt cold, and the other hand had already pressed up.

But this hand was no longer claw-shaped; pale skin wrapped around the bone and flesh, and a sharp, cold dagger was held within it.

It was at this moment that Li Li Piaoqing keenly sensed the straightforwardness and lack of skill in combat of this non-human, non-ghost green shadow—her sword momentum was suddenly throttled, which was precisely because she was caught off guard by this scaled iron claw. Faced with such a situation where her weapon was restricted, the young lady was prepared to let go of Shicui, but this green shadow actually did not exert any twisting force, but instead stabbed with the dagger, opening up another battlefield.

Thus, the sword path of the drifting body was precisely what Cuiyu was good at. The young lady twisted her waist, the cold light brushed past, and her body had already gone from chaotic to smooth in the air. The next instant, the waist strength reached the smallest detail, and the true energy on the Shicui sword suddenly exploded into a collapsing spin.

Under the twisting of her waist, avoiding the blade, straightening her body, and exerting force, the firmly throttled sword body escaped the cage like a fish, brushing against the scales and making a teeth-aching sound as it pierced straight toward the green shadow's face.

This was precisely the sword principle of 【Sweeping Fire Through Waterfall】, going through danger and difficulty, moving forward without looking back.

The green shadow did not care at all, the sharp claw exerted force and gripped tightly, attempting to throttle the young lady's advancing sword, and the dagger in the other hand changed its stance and stabbed again.

It was indeed extremely fast and strong. Li Li Piaoqing confirmed at this moment that the opponent's true energy was indeed one realm stronger than her own.

But...

The sword had a fulcrum. The young lady's figure folded gracefully in the air again, and the dagger cut a red mark on her waist.

And the young lady's sword momentum was still advancing. She stared straight at the person in front of her with stern eyes. When she felt the pulling force suddenly appear on the sword and the green shadow intended to retreat, her figure suddenly flipped over the enemy's head. The straight sword suddenly turned into a diagonal pull, and a stunning emerald light drifted out along the direction of the claw's force.

With her body leading the sword, the long sword, cunning like a slippery fish, brushed past the neck not covered by scales.

Li Li Piaoqing landed behind it, leaving a fatal blood crack.

The young lady flicked her fingers to shake off the blood on the sword body, held the sword horizontally and retreated two steps, watching the enemy in front of her vigilantly.

The green shadow turned around slowly and opened its mouth twice. Only then did Li Li Piaoqing discover that its eye sockets were two pitch-black caves, and she understood the reason for those stingy lights along the way.

But there was no more interaction. The green shadow tilted and fell to the ground.

"..."

Li Li Piaoqing slowly put away her stance.

Profound cultivation, powerful strength, special body... slow sense of crisis.

He actually released 【Sweeping Fire Through Waterfall】 directly into the empty gate in front of him.

If Pei Ye faced this sword, his hair would have stood on end the moment the young lady twisted her waist in the air—a tiger escaping a cage is inherently a dangerous situation in a fight.

This green-clad person actually wanted to besiege Wei to save Zhao, and the dagger was still chasing relentlessly. Clearly, in the previous move, the young lady had already demonstrated excellent agility in mid-air.

"The servants who received the edict have lived in the outer realm of Purple Bamboo for a long time. Although they have also practiced for many years, they never fight with others."

Li Li Piaoqing turned her head back. The young lady in the cage was watching her quietly.

"... Why dig out their eyes?" Li Li Piaoqing walked over and swung her sword to cut the cage lock.

"If they see the eyes of the Edict-Listening Divine Child, it sometimes causes some trouble." Yi Yi Chengxin looked at her. "Sister... how did you get here?"

"How did you get into the cage, little sister?"

Yi Yi Chengxin pursed her lips and revealed a pale smile, lowered her head, and walked out.

"The Dragon Descendant is only constrained by bloodline, but a person's mind can resist the body." The damp cold of the deep underground obviously made the young lady's skin and bones uncomfortable. She gently wrapped her arms around herself and said in a low voice, "The servants who received the edict live in the realm of Purple Bamboo, and gradually they only become loyal to the Edict-Listening Divine Child, like humans and like puppets, holding vigilance against everyone who comes down from above."

"... Living in?"

"Hmm." Yi Yi Chengxin nodded gently. "The earliest one has already lived here for eighteen years."

"..."

"Sister hasn't told me yet, what are you doing here?" Yi Yi Chengxin looked at her and smiled slightly. "Is sister's hobby to secretly visit other people's backyards every time you go to a place?"

Li Li Piaoqing also smiled: "I came to save you."

Yi Yi Chengxin was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice: "... Sister really didn't have to come."

"Why? Are you willing to be this sacrificial offering?" Li Li Piaoqing looked at her.

The young lady raised her eyes again: "... Does sister think I am willing?"

"I think you are not willing." Li Li Piaoqing said decisively. "You sing opera so well, Senior Brother and Senior Sister like you very much, and the audience always gives you the most sincere cheers; your eldest sister and Western Tian truly love each other, but the pair of lovers can only meet in the Yellow Springs; your second brother watched his sister being fed to evil things when he was young, and now he has to send his younger sister in with his own hands... I remember you often lost your focus when looking at that 'Recording Wine' painting; I really can't think of any reason for you to abandon the lively and intimate human world and bury yourself in this ghostly, cold, and dark underground."

Yi Yi Chengxin was silent for a while, her eyes looking at the empty space in a daze. After a long time, she said in a low voice: "Yes... to be able to live together as a family, to go to the theater to sing every day, it really was a very happy time..."

Li Li Piaoqing looked at her.

"So," Yi Yi Chengxin lowered her brows and smiled, "I am not a sacrificial offering either."

"Then what is..."

"I came to be an assassin."

"..." Li Li Piaoqing was startled for a while. "What are you going to assassinate?"

Yi Yi Chengxin's face was chilled by the damp cold. She looked at Li Li Piaoqing and said softly: "The Edict-Listening Divine Child."

"... I'll help you."

Yi Yi Chengxin smiled: "Okay."

"Where are we going?"

"Come with me." Yi Yi Chengxin walked in front. "The servants who received the edict should be 'opening the formation' in front. The 'transmission' is about to start. Let's go to the sacrificial room first."

"Opening the formation?"

"The Jade Ke Formation, only by passing through it... can one reach before the 【Edict-Listening Divine Child】." Yi Yi Chengxin said.

Li Li Piaoqing nodded and followed her deeper.

She called out softly in her heart: "Little cat."

"..."

"Little cat?"

"..."

"Little cat!"

After calling several times, the black cat's response finally came, and it sounded inexplicably distant: "Hmm?"

Li Li Piaoqing just assumed the situation on its side was tense, and briefly recounted the events here, mentioning that she was going deep into the heart with Yi Yi Chengxin.

"Can't you slow down?"

"Yi Yi Chengxin said the 'transmission' is about to start."

"... Alright." The black cat said solemnly. "Be careful in everything. Candle World power is often high and strange, and the Immortal Edict is the core of their core. You are alone, remember that advancing is not as good as retreating."

But the young lady's voice did not come over again. The black cat frowned and tried to call again, but there was only silence on that side.

————

In the sacrificial realm.

Li Li Piaoqing fell half a step behind Yi Yi Chengxin, and the two walked slowly forward in the darkness.

"Is sister the young master of the Cuiyu Sword Sect?" Yi Yi Chengxin suddenly said.

"Hmm."

"I heard that Cuiyu seems to be gaining momentum in Bowang now?"

Li Li Piaoqing was slightly surprised: "Little sister is also concerned about these things?"

"Heard some from Qiyun." Yi Yi Chengxin smiled slightly. "Is it internal strength or external force, is it convenient to say?"

"... Both internal and external. The sword veins in the sect are complete, and outside the sect, we have some care from Tianshan." This was the two pillars that Cuiyu was standing straight on now; the young lady was not afraid to speak out.

Yi Yi Chengxin nodded: "That is truly a good prospect."

Li Li Piaoqing's mind was not on this. She looked at the ground and stone walls around her; the "purple bamboo" was becoming more and more numerous.

When she first saw them, they were just sparse and scattered protrusions. Now, as they went deeper, not only did the purple color in her field of vision begin to become dense, but the form also broke away from the appearance of shoots, gradually having short bamboos that reached her calves.

"... What are these bamboos?"

"They seeped out from the Purple Bamboo Forest. Precisely because of them, the sacrificial realm has to be buried underground."

"What is the Purple Bamboo Forest?"

This time, Yi Yi Chengxin was silent. After being quiet for a while: "Where the Divine Child is, there is the Purple Bamboo Forest."

"... Why?"

"Cannot be spoken."

"..."

But in fact, even if the young lady beside her didn't say these three words, Li Li Piaoqing had already begun to perceive something that made her heart and lungs quiet and suppressed.

It indeed could not be spoken, nor could it be spoken.

Starting from the moment she stepped into the range touched by the purple bamboo, a kind of vague high indifference began to appear in this space, shrouding everything everywhere.

Until this moment, it became increasingly obvious.

Li Li Piaoqing had already seen the Intent Sword, but the boy's cold and deeply suppressed sword also seemed too vivid and light at this moment. This was a heaviness drifting like thin mist. Being in it, a kind of suppressed trembling reaching the soul gradually floated out. Human instinct was rejecting her continuing to approach.

But Yi Yi Chengxin was still moving forward, so Li Li Piaoqing also followed behind without saying a word.

Gradually, the purple bamboo reached her thighs, and thin mist like silk began to drift in the space.

It was hard for Li Li Piaoqing to imagine that she would have a sense of hallucination in this deep black cave, but at this moment, she really felt that she was stepping into another world.

"... Yi Yi Chengxin."

"Hmm?"

"How are you going to assassinate that Divine Child?"

"Candle Sword Burning Heart Poison."

"..."

"'Recording Candle' is a secret technique passed down through generations by the clan that received the edict, used for the ritual of transmitting the edict." Yi Yi Chengxin said in a low voice, and going deep into the purple bamboo seemed to have some influence on her too. "The Divine Child... can only be killed with the Candle Sword."

Li Li Piaoqing understood half of it, but she didn't ask any more. She sent a message softly to the black cat in her heart: "Little cat, there are more and more purple bamboos here. There is a feeling of panic and suppression. I always feel... we seem to have walked into the field of vision of something."

No reply.

Li Li Piaoqing was startled: "... Little cat?"

"..."

"Little cat?" This situation happened for the second time. Li Li Piaoqing finally realized something was wrong, but unlike just now, this time she called out more than ten times, but she didn't get a single response from the black cat.

Silence shrouded her heart. Li Li Piaoqing suddenly realized what had happened.

That huge will was not false; this was really another world.

Starting from the first appearance of the purple bamboo, the 【Chun Shou】 bestowed upon her by the black cat was blocked. At that time, her repeated shouting was not because the black cat didn't have time to respond, but because it was only delivered at the very last cry.

Now, it was finally completely separated on both sides.

The young lady pursed her lips and turned her head back. The purple bamboo stretching behind her was like a small path, disappearing into the cold and thin mist.

She subconsciously gripped the Shicui sword in her hand tightly.

At this moment, Yi Yi Chengxin in front of her stopped her footsteps: "We're here, this is the sacrificial room."

Li Li Piaoqing turned her head to look forward.

She froze in place.

A space larger than she could imagine, high, wide, deep, even with a sense of sudden openness... dense purple bamboos clustered here. By the end, it really had the appearance of a "forest".

That was undoubtedly the center of everything.

Four large tripods were burning with cold and majestic blue flames. Before them, eight green-clad figures were kneeling there like withered wood, pinching strange finger seals in their hands, motionless.

And behind this picture was its huge, ghostly blue background.

The tall stone wall was higher than all the purple bamboos, polished smooth and flat. It was nearly ten feet high, reaching the dome. Li Li Piaoqing had to look up to take in its full appearance.

And on this stone wall, every gully was as thick as a waist, with ghostly blue luster flowing within, together constructing a pattern that made Li Li Piaoqing purse her lips tightly.

—Starting from the same origin, two "Ya" characters extended to the upper left and upper right. From the top of the "Ya", branches continued to fork out, growing to the top like this, from simple to complex, like a cluster of cold and hard abstract flames.

This was the first time Li Li Piaoqing... had seen the complete appearance of this symbol.

And right below the center of this pattern, a divine and secluded gate was opening there, with some faint light penetrating through the deep darkness.

That was precisely the source of everything.

The omnipresent ghostly etherealness was coming from there.

"'Opening the formation' is about to be completed." Yi Yi Chengxin beside her said in a low voice.

There was no need for her to say it; Li Li Piaoqing also felt the increasingly deep and ethereal cold suppression, as if a road leading to the Immortal Realm was being slowly opened.

"What are we going to do?"

"Kill them, and we go in."

Li Li Piaoqing turned her head in astonishment.

There was no expression on the young lady's pale face: "I could only do it here anyway. Did you see the mirror behind the tripod? The things I brought... cannot pass the inspection of that level."

"..." Li Li Piaoqing really didn't expect that the young lady was sent down alone to kill all these people. "Was your eldest sister also..."

"No." Yi Yi Chengxin lowered her head and smiled. "She was indeed a 'sacrificial offering', but I am an 'assassin'."

"But you... didn't you not practice martial arts?"

Yi Yi Chengxin smiled again: "To kill, one doesn't necessarily need true energy and a sword."

(End of chapter)