Chapter 291: Chengxin (Part 2)

Amidst the purple forest, the sound of eight low chants gradually covered the entire forest realm. This sound seemed not to disappear; when the next sentence came out, the previous sentence still drifted in this space, gradually pressing and mixing into an unclear layer, mixing with the increasingly heavy mist.

In that ancient and deep gate, the fluorescence became more and more intense, and the pressure of what was about to happen began to make Li Piaoping feel uncomfortable breathing.

"... What is that?" she asked.

"The formation place of the Jade Ke formation, the place where the Proclamation Child enters the realm of Purple Bamboo." Yi Chengxin said softly, "This road is managed by the servants who receive the proclamation, and only they can open it."

Yi Chengxin looked at them quietly: "After the 'starting the formation' is completed, we can take action."

The chanting was distant.

Gradually, Li Piaoping, whose inspiration was not very keen, also noticed some movements.

That was the heaven and earth Spirit Mystery all around. A vortex seemed to have collapsed in the gate, and the Spirit Mystery was gathering into it in large quantities.

The fluorescence became brighter and brighter, finally overflowing, and then suddenly returned to darkness.

The chanting disappeared, the mist stopped, and everything became quiet.

"Starting the formation" was completed.

The high and distant ghostly etherealness covered this space like water patterns.

"See that mirror?" Yi Chengxin said for the second time. Li Piaoping looked along, it was exactly the one behind the cauldron, hanging high behind the fire, like stone carving, "That is the key for us to enter the formation place. Later, we must prevent them from deliberately destroying it in a hurry."

"... Okay." Li Piaoping responded in a low voice, looking forward, and didn't say another word.

Because like water receding to reveal stones, the sound died away, and the entire forest realm seemed to have taken off its veil.

Standing at the end of the bamboo forest, before Yi Chengxin spoke, Li Piaoping's body had already tightened.

Sixteen pitch-black eye sockets didn't know when they had turned over, facing them straight.

Li Piaoping slowly pushed open the sword blade, and the overwhelming pressure almost made her heart and lungs stop.

She had never faced so many cultivators of such a realm. If any one of them were chosen to be placed in the Bowang martial arts world, the young girl would have to pay respect as a junior. If she were to fight against them, she would have to face the pressure like a fierce tiger.

Now, in the open space, she was stared at by eight people at the same time.

Li Piaoping realized at this moment that it was her own reason—if Yi Chengxin had come with that green-robed person in the cage, she indeed wouldn't have to face this scene.

Li Piaoping was about to say something, but Yi Chengxin had already walked forward again.

Li Piaoping was startled and followed with her sword pressed.

These servants who received the proclamation were still dull. Facing the two footsteps coming straight without a word, for a moment, no one made any reaction, just staring at the two of them stiffly.

Until the two crossed half of the bamboo forest, they stood up slowly at the same time.

Li Piaoping heard such a dry and low voice for the first time: "Those who trespass before the God-Child's steps, pay for the sin of disrespect with blood."

No one answered them. Yi Chengxin said nothing, her footsteps stirring up waves in the forest mist.

So in an instant, the movement of the green robes was really as fierce as a tiger.

The mist in the forest suddenly stirred up a trail of air, and the green-robed servant who spoke swept past. The Shicui sword was drawn with a clang. Li Piaoping had already opened Chun Shou when she stepped into the forest, but the green shadow in her field of vision was still terrifyingly fast.

Seventh Life!

Straight toward Yi Chengxin.

Yi Chengxin's face was calm. She lowered her head, the bloodstain on her palm finally dried, and the handkerchief she was holding was stained with mottled blood plums.

She unfolded the handkerchief, folded it twice, covered her eyes, and tied it gently behind her head.

The bamboo shook and the mist exploded. The green robe was already before Yi Chengxin in the blink of an eye. Sharp claws and cold blades, the collision would absolutely shatter the slender young girl like thin paper in an instant.

Li Piaoping stepped on the bamboo beside her in mid-air, and she was about to rely on the sword to spring up in the bending.

But Yi Chengxin's covered eyes looked at the green owl that was sweeping over in surprise.

One look was like freezing time.

The field of vision seemed to be dripped with ink into water, everything was dyed into cold gray-white, and the figure of the green robe hitting with claws was as slow as a painting.

And in the painting, the only color was the light of the heart candle.

The candle body was molded from rich black, but it burned with white light like the sun.

Yi Chengxin tapped gently on this candle body.

Everything stiffened, and then the black candle body expanded suddenly, swallowing the bright white fire upward. Then everything returned to silence, and this candle fire also fell into cold gray-white, and the whole picture no longer shook or had color.

Everything returned to the real world, the gray-white faded, the colors bloomed, the sharp claws and cold blades approached, the strong wind tore the hair into chaotic flying, hearing, smelling, feeling, seeing, everything returned, and everything just now pressed the play button again.

But the green robe was already like a broken-winged owl, brushing past Yi Chengxin's side and crashing messily.

The young girl walked forward without looking sideways. Behind her, the purple bamboo and white mist were hit into a blank space, and then there was no silence at all.

That Seventh Life green robe had already become a motionless shell under one look.

Li Piaoping was startled and silent, but the next moment the forest moved and the mist was disturbed, and the remaining seven green robes swept like seven long dragons, one of which was crashing toward her.

"Sister!" Yi Chengxin suddenly called out.

Li Piaoping turned her head to look, and a green robe indeed did not come toward this side, but went straight toward the sacrificial platform.

There, that stone mirror was hanging high behind the cauldron.

The green robe in front was already close, and the Seventh Life's magnificent power was undoubtedly revealed. Li Piaoping was like a sparrow in a storm, losing her balance with her wings when brushed lightly by the edge. The powerful sharp claws stabbed over without any restraint. Li Piaoping blocked horizontally with her sword, her body having already avoided behind the sword first.

The next moment, the horizontal sword block was broken without any accident, and the young girl's stance collapsed completely.

Even for a Seventh Life with no combat experience and martial arts practice, every strike was enough to kill a weak body of the Fifth Life.

But the young girl's body was like a swimming sparrow. Once this strike was completed, she borrowed the force to sweep forward, reversing and rising from between the six air trails, instantly catching up with the green robe in front.

The Shicui sword blade flashed under the ghostly blue flame. In the mid-air, when the young girl's figure straightened, she was already in the posture of 【Broken Ye Huilan】.

This bright and sharp half-moon was about to be slashed out, but Li Piaoping's arm suddenly paused, startled by the movement of the green-robed person in front of her.

He should be in the Sixth Life realm. At this moment, his scaled claws were probing straight in front of him, almost exhausting his whole body's strength.

Even if a sword from behind were to break him into two sections, this servant who received the proclamation had no response or evasion at all, as if being able to reach the sacrificial platform with this life was enough.

But what made Li Piaoping stop her sword within a hair's breadth was the direction of this person's scaled claws at this moment.

Li Piaoping stared, dragging the sword for half a breath, until the scaled claws were about to touch the stone wall, 【Broken Ye Huilan】 slashed down overwhelmingly. The half-moon swept past, and the green-robed scaled claw arm was broken into two sections in the blood light.

There was no painful roar. These servants who received the proclamation were indeed like puppets. In the instability of the body, he actually ignored Li Piaoping, and the only remaining hand still probed the dagger to stab straight.

Li Piaoping could have broken it again by turning the sword, but she didn't need to draw her sword. The green-robed person in front of her body suddenly stiffened and lost strength like a corpse.

Before hitting the illustrated stone wall, Li Piaoping slashed him open with a sword.

She put away her sword and landed, turned around, and the pale-faced young girl had just finished walking this small bamboo forest path. She gently untied the handkerchief on her eyes, her brows stained with some blood, and revealed a gentle smile at Li Piaoping.

Behind her, the bamboo broke and the mist was chaotic, leaving only silence.

"... Little sister's methods... are really scary." Li Piaoping pursed her lips and smiled.

Yi Chengxin sighed gently: "Human hearts have ten thousand thoughts, but these people only have a bit of obsession and a bit of true belief in their hearts, which is the best target for the Candle Sword."

"What do you mean?"

"At the beginning of receiving the proclamation, every servant was respectful to Taiyi, but after being immersed in the proclamation realm for a long time, the body and mind gradually became dyed by the Proclamation God-Child, becoming his puppets." Yi Chengxin said, "However, the old pious belief has not disappeared. The so-called one light and one dark, one heart and one wisdom, the two contradict each other, that is them."

"..." Li Piaoping didn't know everything about the so-called "Candle World Sect," but she also heard that something was wrong, "Is this 【Proclamation God-Child】 not on the same path as that so-called Taiyi Immortal Lord?"

Yi Chengxin was silent for a moment and smiled: "That's not necessarily the case, just because of ignorance."

Li Piaoping immediately remembered what she saw in Yi Danjun's courtyard at dusk—"The God-Child is already ignorant..."

Yi Chengxin walked slowly to the sacrificial platform: "The Immortal Lord passed down the proclamation map, and the listener is the 【God-Child】. The God-Child cannot leave the realm of Purple Bamboo, so he must take the person who receives the proclamation to serve him. This is the servant who receives the proclamation. These people, under the infection of the God-Child, became proclamation puppets. Every thirty years, the God-Child gradually becomes ignorant and needs new heart and mind to feed him. This is the 【Proclamation】."

Yi Chengxin smiled: "So they allowed me to go in, but only after careful inspection."

"... So that's it." Li Piaoping nodded slowly and also went to the side of the sacrificial platform to look down.

But she was startled.

It was flat, with nothing placed on it, only two lines of old engraved characters.

The first line of handwriting was sharp and powerful.

【Proclamation Child】: Yang Zhaoren

【Candle Sword】: Taiyi.

【Heart Poison】: Emotion, the night Yi Duanzhi unsealed the seal.

Li Piaoping was very familiar with the second line of handwriting.

【Proclamation Child】: Yi Danjun

【Candle Sword】: Kin.

【Heart Poison】: Emotion, in the painting pavilion.

There was a third empty space behind.

"..."

Li Piaoping's brows furrowed slightly.

The so-called killing the God-Child requires "Candle Sword Burning Heart Poison." Li Piaoping originally thought that the cultivation of "Transmitting Heart Proclamation" that Yi Chengxin carried was the "dagger" that the servants who received the proclamation were unwilling to let pass, but if the previous two people both knew this secret technique... how could they enter the God Realm?

She subconsciously looked at Yi Chengxin.

The young girl lowered her brows and smiled, took out a carving knife, and carved the third line stroke by stroke.

【Proclamation Child】: Yi Chengxin

【Candle Sword】: Taiyi

【Heart Poison】: Kin, "New Year's Eve Recording Wine".

"..."

Li Piaoping was about to ask in detail, but Yi Chengxin had already stood up and looked at the stone mirror on the cauldron.

"Can you trouble sister to take it down?"

Li Piaoping jumped up and took this heavy thing down.

It was already covered in dust.

Yi Chengxin took it and said softly: "This mirror was originally placed here for these servants who receive the proclamation to refer to and hold their hearts, but as the infection deepened, no one used it anymore."

Li Piaoping looked suspiciously at the rough, pitch-black mirror surface, with nothing reflected in it: "This is..."

"It must first pass through its candle illumination before it can enter the realm of Purple Bamboo through here." Yi Chengxin smiled gently, "After going in, you have to face the God-Child."

Li Piaoping paused: "Can't we wait?"

Yi Chengxin shook her head and smiled lightly: "'Starting the formation' is completed, the entry time is not controlled by us."

Li Piaoping looked along her gaze. That deep and secluded gate was beside her. Being close, she saw faint light penetrating from inside.

Turning back, Yi Chengxin in front had already held the mirror to herself.

The young girl raised her little finger, her thumb pinched the lower part of her middle finger, made a pious and strange hand seal under her chin, and said softly with a solemn face: "Mortal heart and dusty intent, washed by fire before the mirror; looking up to Taiyi, ten thousand generations of Dao start."

The carved stone mirror became bright in an instant, and it actually clearly reflected the young girl's face. After blinking nine times, the image slowly faded, and the stone mirror returned to deep darkness.

Yi Chengxin breathed a sigh of relief, turned her head, and handed the mirror to Li Piaoping with a smile: "It's sister's turn. After washing, we can enter the formation place."

Li Piaoping was startled. This stone mirror was more of a plate than a mirror. She looked at the "mirror surface" and really couldn't imagine how it reflected the young girl's face just now.

She looked at it for a while and reached out to take it.

————

"How could she go in by herself?!"

"The ritual was nearing its end, I led the people away, the stone door was about to close, so she went down first."

"... You shouldn't have brought her!"

"Pei Ye, if you didn't let her do anything, why did you express your feelings to her that day?"

"..."

"I think she did things very well, and in some places, she is more reliable than you."

"But she doesn't know anything about the Candle World Sect... I'm going over immediately."

"I want her to be steady. She said she rescued Yi Chengxin from the cage, so she should be able to get some information."

"... Yi Chengxin... is she trustworthy? I've only seen her once, and only heard about her from her mouth later."

"Me too." The black cat said calmly, "However, Li Piaoping has indeed chatted with her many times, and seems to trust her more. This person loves opera and misses her family, and her eldest sister died because of the Candle World Sect. I have checked when I had the chance, and there is no trace of her being forced to believe by the Immortal Lord's 【Chun Shou】."

"... Okay."

Pei Ye walked out of the Linjing Painting Pavilion quickly.

He already knew what place Linjing was—the residence of Xi Xi Fang Tian in Xiangzhou City back then, which was later set up for him by Yi Danjun.

But he didn't care about this matter anymore. Taking advantage of the night, he stepped on the eaves all the way back to the inn in the Seventh and Ninth City in the west of the city, knocked on the door and called the waiter to lead the horse out.

During this period, he stood in front of the inn waiting quietly, with no expression on his face, only the thumb holding the sword constantly pushing and pulling the scabbard.

But before the waiter led the horse out, a person suddenly came over at the entrance of the theater next to him. It was the senior brother of the opera troupe that day.

Seeing Pei Ye, he ran over and greeted him happily: "Young Master Pei, I finally waited for you! Master woke up this afternoon and has been wanting to see you to thank you in person!"

Pei Ye cupped his hands: "A small effort, don't worry about it. I have urgent matters right now, I will come to find the big Qingyi to listen to the opera another day."

"Ah, is it that urgent..."

Pei Ye nodded, but before he could say anything, he saw Sun Qingyi being helped by someone and walking over quickly at the theater entrance.

Pei Ye was startled and hurriedly stepped forward to support him: "Why bother, meeting by chance is fate."

The old man straightened his clothes: "Young Master brought me out of the Dragon Gate Building, which is saving my life; bringing the theater out of a desperate situation is saving my heart. A person's life is only tied to these two things, how can there be any ambiguity—please accept my bow!"

Ignoring everyone's obstruction, the old man insisted on bowing, stood up and panted lightly: "Young Master, there is another matter. I heard from Ji Yun that Young Master had something to ask, but I happened to be in a coma—just say it, I will definitely know everything!"

Pei Ye was startled. He had actually forgotten this. That day, he wanted to ask who the author of the opera script was to trace the matter of Xi Xi Fang Tian. Now that he had obtained the name of Yi Danjun, and Li Piaoping was already in the heart of the Candle World, this matter was not very necessary.

Looking at the old man's serious face, Pei Ye still pursed his lips and smiled: "It's like this, I wanted to ask who the author of the opera script was at that time, and then I saw that there seemed to be some changes later..."

"Oh!" Sun Qingyi hurriedly took out another opera script and handed it to Pei Ye, "I was just about to tell Young Master. "White Snake Love" was written by Chengxin, and I changed it later—this volume is the original, and I will give it all to Young Master."

Pei Ye took it, and the old man helped him open it and pointed: "The change is just this last section. The script being sung now is that the White Snake chooses to stay with her lover, but is captured back by the Immortal; while in Chengxin's script, the White Snake, although truly loves the painter, still chooses to return to the Immortal Grass without hesitation in the end."

Pei Ye was startled and looked down.

"The meaning of this is actually better, but singing opera is not writing Dao scriptures, it still needs to be more worldly to look good, and it's lively to be entangled. Making it so firm doesn't look like a real person..."

The old man was still chattering on the side, and this last line of singing lyrics entered Pei Ye's eyes.

It says: "Since the mortal fire avoids the immortal grass, how can love dreams hurt the Dao heart?

Throwing away mortal things for thirty years, I have served the Immortal Lord until now."

The young girl's cold and cool face flooded into his mind. Pei Ye felt like falling into an ice cellar.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 292 =====