Chapter 573: 526 A Lifetime Apart

The white fox's voice was not necessarily deafening, yet it carried an impact that came from the soul. To her, it was a cry originating from the soul, and it seemed as if it wanted to rush into the soul of the pipa as well.

If that Abyss Envoy still had a soul, that is.

The pipa froze instantly; its strings trembled, but they emitted no sound.

Silk strings trembling yet remaining silent is inherently inconceivable in the Human World, but it is very common on Wangliang Mountain. When the Wangliang warriors were dispatched in the past, mountains and rivers would shake, yet they would not make a single sound.

Because they are shadows. They exist on the reverse side of the world and do not emit the sounds of the Human World.

That pipa originally resembled an instrument of the Human World; at the Third Tier, one could even see the color of its wood and touch its real texture. By the Second Tier, the color had faded, yet it still retained its shape, with the front and back being different shades of gray, from which one could vaguely guess its original color.

However, right now, after it froze, it suddenly faded further, the gray on the front and back turning darker, shifting toward the state of a pool of lake shadow.

Suddenly, large swaths of smoke erupted from around the pipa, almost shrouding its entire body.

When looking closely, those were not smoke, but clusters of thin shadows.

Seeing that the pipa was about to be submerged in the shadows it had sprayed out, with even its silhouette becoming blurred, the white fox steeled her heart and exerted force suddenly, pouncing over like a white sharp arrow:

"Don't think about running! I won't let you leave again!"

Her speed was extremely fast, and she finally touched the pipa the moment it became completely blurred, embracing it.

Whoosh—

In an instant, heaven and earth turned dark.

All directions were plunged into shadow in the blink of an eye.

The white fox switched the form of her Sword Image, turning from solid to void, reaching the same level as the shadow, and thus managed to grab the etherealized pipa. At this moment, as the surrounding shadows attacked, she suddenly felt a sense of emptiness in her heart: Am I about to fall into the Yingyuan?

To be honest, the white fox was afraid. She was a Sword Hero, but she had been wandering for over a hundred years, basically never engaging in battle, and she was a Sword Hero whose Sword Intent was Doubt, restrained by the heartless Wangliang. How could she not be afraid to venture alone into the legendary Yingyuan?

But could she let go just because she was afraid?

Absolutely not!

She had rushed up regardless of everything to hold the second elder sister she hadn't seen in a hundred years; that glimmer of hope made her reckless.

Of course, there was also a layer of reason because she knew she had two advantages, which gave her great confidence and meant she didn't have so many misgivings.

One of them, of course, was that she was not her true self, but a body of Sword Image; even if there were truly a threat to her life, she could simply dissipate.

She was immortal; an immortal person would have far fewer concerns, and the instinct for survival would be suppressed. However, dissipating the Sword Image at this time would mean she could only return to Baiyujing to condense it again, which would mean abandoning this mission, and she did not want to take that step lightly.

Furthermore, she could call for companions; she now carried a portable teleportation array on her. At the thought of her reliable teammates, she felt immense confidence.

Her partners were her solid backing, and she was a sharp spear shot out, capable of forging ahead!

If it was the Yingyuan, it wasn't impossible to venture into it!

The surroundings were not entirely dark; in a flash, countless gray, white, and black lines and patterns appeared, as if she had entered another world.

The white fox was surprised, realizing that this place was strangely familiar.

Yinglang Bridge, this is Yinglang Bridge!

When she and Tang Zhao walked that Yinglang Bridge to come directly to Wangliang Mountain, they had walked through such a world before.

However, she was not walking on a bridge now; she was directly placed within this world.

She was somewhat dazed: Yinglang Bridge was probably just a "bridge" after all. It was merely a tool to shuttle through this space, while the so-called Abyss Envoy was an existence that could walk here without a bridge.

What is this world called?

Could it be called Yinglang?

The pipa solidified its form here again, and one could even vaguely see colors. The surrounding lines were far more stable than when she walked it the first time. At a certain moment, they were almost motionless; clearly, this was a stable space within the Yinglang.

The white fox felt a surge of joy, thinking to herself: Could it be that the second elder sister found it inconvenient to acknowledge me outside, and therefore brought me to this secret place to facilitate conversation? That's right, the second elder sister has always been meticulous; she is our "wise star"—how could she reveal flaws outside?

Thinking of this, she felt a bit of self-reproach: appearing just now was a bit rash. Although she had let Tang Zhao cooperate to lure away that civet cat, and had used Doubt to hide slightly in the surroundings to form a barrier, this was ultimately still the Second Tier; how could she speak secret truths under the enemy's nose? The second elder sister's caution was correct.

Who knew that the pipa, floating there, would ask again: "Who exactly are you?"

The white fox was bewildered for a moment, then felt extremely sad, and asked repeatedly: "I am A Yu; do you truly not remember me?"

The sound of the pipa strings was somewhat desolate, and it said: "You don't need to say any more; I know what you mean. Perhaps a long time ago, you knew me."

The white fox carefully pondered its meaning, her heart sinking, and she said: "Then you are now..."

The pipa said: "I am an Abyss Envoy now; the previous matters are already like a lifetime ago. An Abyss Envoy is born from the Yingze; from the moment of birth, I was in my current form. My memories only date from that time. Actually, it's not that I haven't thought about what came before; those muddled, stupid things don't think about where they come from, but I do. I have been thinking, searching."

"What am I?"

"I have thought about several possibilities for my self, but the most likely is that I am just a Sword Image. I haven't seen my sword, but I imagine it should be with Lord Wangliang, probably in the Yingyuan. It is said that the Yingyuan can swallow all living things, yet a sword is the spirit of heaven and earth and cannot be swallowed. Since the sword exists, the Sword Image will also exist. After the Sword Image undergoes a baptism in the Yingyuan and gains a new life as an Abyss Envoy, that is the current me. However, Lord Wangliang swallows how many Sword Guests every year, yet not that many Abyss Envoys are born; I imagine only some special swords can give birth to Abyss Envoys. I am likely very special."

Because it had no expression and its voice was played out, it was hard to carry emotion, but one could guess it was still proud.

"I was born from the Yingyuan a year ago. It could be that the previous Sword Image transferred directly, or it could be that it condensed again after the Sword Image dissipated. I originally leaned toward the latter, but now it seems the former is more likely. Because I actually harbor some distant impressions; I didn't realize it usually, but they have always existed. For example, that piece of music—clearly heard for the first time, yet inexplicably familiar. For example, you..."

Its eyes narrowed slightly: "I felt you looked familiar when we first met; perhaps we were truly close in a past life. Even though I was reborn from the Yingze, I still have impressions—this is fate. If not for this, I would not have brought you into my Lang Xia."

It spoke to itself, but the white fox was stunned: Was it born only this year?

She and the second elder sister had been separated for over a hundred years!

Where had it gone during those hundred years in between?

The pipa looked at the white fox and said: "You are not from Wangliang Mountain, are you? You don't have a shred of Wangliang Mountain's aura on you. Not from Wangliang Mountain, yet you ascended to the Second Tier—could it be you have other intentions?"

Without waiting for the white fox to answer, the pipa said: "Forget it. Although I am an Abyss Envoy, I have never received orders from Lord Wangliang, nor have I ever been taught what I should do or what I shouldn't do; why should I look for trouble? Besides, I see you are quite happy, so I'll just pretend I didn't see you today. Whatever you want to do, just don't go too far. I'll send you out first..."

The white fox looked up and said: "Wait—since you still have impressions, do you still remember where His Highness is?"

The pipa froze again, for even longer than when the white fox called it "second elder sister." Only, within the Yinglang, it could not etherealize; its strings were just trembling incessantly, no longer able to condense into clear language, just a chaotic, clattering noise.

Seeing this, the white fox was both worried and expectant: She really did remember! She had been through the Yingyuan, and some memories were not lost, just suppressed. If someone stimulated her, could she really remember?

Perhaps, if she asked her more, and used more things from the past to remind her, the second elder sister would come back bit by bit.

If a person's memories all returned, then what difference would she have from the original?

Beyond the excitement and expectation, Ling Baoyu also had worries hidden in the bottom of her heart:

Seeing the once-brilliant second elder sister become what she was now, she was naturally very heartbroken and sad, but if His Highness also became like this, she absolutely, absolutely could not accept it!

No, how could His Highness become a vassal of Wangliang? Even if His Highness slipped up for a moment and fell into the hands of Wangliang, she was a Sword Immortal of a generation; how could she let herself be manipulated by Wangliang?

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a stir in her heart and looked up at Yinglang.

Here... setting aside those pitch-black shadows, aren't those silver lines familiar?

After a moment, the noisy string sounds of the Pipa gradually ceased, and the voice condensed into a line once more: "Is this person you mentioned very important to me?"

The White Fox said word by word: "Like faith, like Bone and flesh."

The Pipa said wistfully: "That must be it, right? Whenever I think of her, my Spirit churns like a gale and giant waves, unable to calm down for a long time. I think she must have a deep connection to me. But I can't remember anything; I don't know who she is. Your Highness... Your Highness..."

Hearing her words, the White Fox said somewhat urgently: "Think again? I beg you to think carefully; this is truly important to me, to us. If we find Your Highness, we can go home together."

The Pipa paused slightly and said: "I can think. Wait for me to think." It stared at the White Fox and said: "Although I can't remember for the moment, you are becoming more and more pleasing to my eyes; is this the past that cannot be severed? How about this: you shall worship me. That way, I can find you at any time. When I remember something, I will call you over. Come here and place your hand on my strings."

The White Fox went over and placed its paw on them.

The moment it touched her strings, the White Fox shuddered as if electrocuted. Looking up at her again, it said: "Second Sister, you certainly haven't forgotten Your Highness. The strings on your body are precisely woven from her Ruyi Silk. You have never been separated."

The Pipa was silent. It drew a strand from the strings and wrapped it around Ling Baoyu's paw, saying: "Take this. Use it just like Incense; if you encounter trouble, find me. If anyone bullies you, find me too. If you insist on wandering in Wangliang Mountain and get tracked down for something you've done, finding me will at least provide a path of retreat."

Although she still hadn't remembered, she gradually accepted the address of "Second Sister" and seemed to want to do something in the manner of a sister.

The White Fox knew this was all that could be done for now and said solemnly: "Second Sister, if you want clues, you might as well look inside this Yinglang—those silver lines are inseparable from our Baiyujing's Ruyi Thread!"

This Yinglang was simply built with Ruyi Silk as its Bone structure.

It really is you, Wangliang, who only knows how to plagiarize!