Chapter 386: Losing the Bead

Pei Ye had briefly arrived at such a realm. On the rainy night in Bowang, the purple bamboo realm that spread out from his golden pupils unexpectedly had once included the person in front of him.

That was the first time the "Purple Bamboo Forest Dragon Immortal Secret Edict" broke through 【Chun Shou】, and the connection with reality was established from there.

Pei Ye had never opened this opening again since then. The boundary between the Immortal Lord and this world had always been a clear line in the youth's place. Even if it was just a picture of the edict, he never wanted to deepen its connection with reality.

And he remembered clearly that in that time, the person in front of him was as caught off guard as he was.

But now it seemed that time had changed.

Pei Ye didn't know what he had done. Was it seduction or provocation, or did he do nothing at all, just simply revealing his location?

So the barrier established by Chun Shou collapsed in an instant in front of the edict map, and the immortal palace and stars shrouded over from behind the old man. And in the back that Pei Ye himself couldn't see, the boundless ghostly purple bamboo also spread into a world in an instant.

Two worlds collided and bordered. Both couldn't see the scene behind them, only the other standing before everything... When the scale was pulled to between two people, the immortal palace, stars, and purple forest ghostly sky all became irrelevant backgrounds. This was a pure world with only the two of them.

The red-gold pupils of the Edict-Listening God met the calm eyes of the West Court Immortal again. This was an arena opened directly from the entire Mind-Spirit Realm, exactly the same as the last time. In this world, cutting the heart was cutting the person.

But Pei Ye was completely unable to move.

He stood before the purple bamboo forest, trembling pale, the violent madness in his golden pupils constantly hitting his pupils. The long sword in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter. The youth hugged his head tightly and collapsed to the ground in pain.

—Before facing the enemy, he had already been crushed by the edict map first.

He had never controlled the edict map, nor had he fallen into a true Edict-Listening God. In the many days of the past, it was those poisonous and sharp spears that were stabbing deeper into his mind again and again.

"Not my wish..."

An old, soft voice sounded. In this world, Qu Zhu was as intact as if he had never suffered any injuries. He held a sharp long sword in his hand, walked up slowly, pinched the youth's trembling neck, and raised his arm to throw him back into the purple bamboo forest.

Everything extinguished abruptly.

Pei Ye opened his eyes, the gold in his pupils extinguished. He was on the mountain top in the morning wind. He watched the old man in front of him raise his arm to push him away, his body suffocating and stiff as he fell to the ground. Zhanxin Liuli, which had lost its mind connection, came and went without reason, circling him dazed and anxiously. When Qu Zhu walked close, it darted up with cloud energy, was unloaded by Qu Zhu with a saber, and then the old man bent down slowly and took off the Soul-Taking Bead at his waist.

The blood on his silver hair dripped onto his face. Pei Ye's eyes were stiff, and the old man in his field of vision panted and raised his body, leaving just like that.

Qu Zhu walked to the edge of the cliff and reached out to lift this bead that had suffered many worries together with the 【West Court Heart】 at his waist. The sword dragon that had re-gathered its shape immediately bit it in one bite and turned to dart away.

And then he looked back. Beside the fallen youth, the black Chi had already arched its claws and blocked in front, its green eyes staring firmly at him.

But Qu Zhu just glanced at it, looked back, patted the theatrical mask on his forehead lightly, leaned down from the edge of the cliff, and lost his trace just like that.

A cool autumn wind blew under the clear morning light.

Pei Ye felt his soul leave his body, cold and nowhere to shiver. In panic, he climbed and pulled everywhere, finally touching a thread. Soon he realized that was 【Chun Shou】. Along this thread, he finally found his body back, and the shouting arrived from far to near: "... Pei Ye, Pei Ye!"

It was the black cat that bumped into his field of vision, pressing a soft paw on his lips. The clear green eyes were close at hand. Pei Ye shifted his eyes slightly, and fresh red blood was flowing down from its half-body.

The black cat immediately captured this movement of his eyes: "—【Chun Shou】 holds the heart, isolate the edict map!"

Pei Ye followed orders, and soon his limbs began to revive. Heat surged up, followed by dense and fresh sharp pains everywhere. Pei Ye arched his body ferociously with a hideous face, and it took a long time before he slowed down with a pale face, sweating like rain.

The black cat supported him up and fed him two Kongdong injury pills: "Are you okay?"

Pei Ye supported it powerlessly and said weakly: "He took away the Soul-Taking Bead..."

"I know."

"I should have destroyed it..."

"Destroy it, and you will be the new one." The black cat fed him a lot of its own blood. "Don't think wildly."

Pei Ye's face turned slightly rosy, burying the fragility again. He looked at the distant mountains dazed for a while, closed his eyes, and seemed to cheer up again.

Supporting himself with his sword, he stood up: "... Where will he go?"

The black cat looked back at the Five Peaks Lotus Heart: "That depends on what they want to do... Now that the preparations are finished..."

"... But we still don't know their purpose."

This was indeed the deepest layer covered by the Huan Si Lou. Before, Pei Ye had discovered that they would rather sacrifice themselves—Su Mian, Bai Mian, Xi Tianji, Jiang Yitong—than let this plot be exposed first.

"Sword Belly Mountain changed before we arrived." The black cat pondered. "It probably can't be separated from there. Let's go back first."

Pei Ye nodded silently, thinking that he had lost the Soul-Taking Bead and didn't know what kind of consequences it would produce. His heart was heavy and hard to speak, so he cheered up and said hoarsely: "I'll inform Miss Ming first... She is in Sword Belly Mountain, perhaps she has some ideas."

"Okay."

The youth gripped Zhanxin Liuli and ran toward the Five Peaks Lotus Heart.

His face felt cold, and it suddenly started to rain.

——————

Behind the peaks, between the deep cliffs, the broken small courtyard.

The fine rain like silk hit the lush cliff trees, and the whole valley was covered in a layer of quiet rustling.

Qu Zhu fell down, the blood already dark and mottled on his black clothes. He lifted the curtain and returned to the stone cave. In the last room, the young man with terrifying blood cracks was still leaning against the stone wall. This wound was just a little bit away from taking his life.

His pale complexion also seemed to have life passing away. Seeing Qu Zhu walk in, he stared at him without saying a word.

Qu Zhu walked up, the theatrical mask looking at him indifferently: "Time to go."

He bent down and picked up the long sword at his feet.

Just at this moment, Meng Li suddenly erupted, a sharp, cold short gleam exploding from behind him, fiercely stabbing toward the old man's throat, which was within arm's reach.

Qu Zhu tilted his body abruptly, blood light breaking on his shoulder. When the blade went deep into the flesh by an inch, he gripped the hand of the youth holding the dagger, and twisted his wrist bone with a low roar.

Meng Li roared in pain, kneeling on the ground with sweat like rain. Qu Zhu pressed against his neck and strangled him firmly on the wall.

Two faces pressed against each other. After a long while, Qu Zhu let go, threw the short blade away with a "clatter", and turned to lean against the man beside him.

For a time, it was completely silent. In the stone room, there was only the panting of the two, and the faint and weak rain sound outside the mountain hitting the mountain body.

Qu Zhu's blood on his shoulder was still flowing down, but he didn't care, just leaning quietly.

Suddenly he said softly: "Does it look like listening to the rain in the old Buddha hall in the valley?"

The thin rain sound passed through several twists and turns before arriving, uniform and weak, always making people doubt whether this layer of sound existed.

Meng Li looked at the stone wall dazed, and after a long while, he said hoarsely: "... Really like it."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 387 =====