Chapter 230: It

Whoosh~

The sound of waves rose beside her ears, and a salty, briny sea breeze blew against her face, bringing a chill to her skin.

Bu Yuehua suddenly snapped back to awareness, opened her eyes, and realized she had somehow stood on a stretch of yellow sand.

Beyond the beach lay endless azure ocean; the sky hung a crescent moon and a brilliant Milky Way, while at the edge of her peripheral vision stood a hundred-zhang stone cliff, carved with five large characters: "Feng Ling Yue Ying Zong," along with faint smaller inscriptions.

Above the cliff face, she could see the dome of a temple, atop which sat a row of lifelike auspicious beasts—dragons, phoenixes, lions, heavenly horses, and more…

Bu Yuehua's gaze flickered with surprise as she turned to look behind the cliff, only to realize the beach's rear was a dense forest, merging into a colossal mountain that stretched across heaven and earth.

The mountain was entirely black-blue, larger than any peak she had ever seen before; though distant, its scale was so immense it felt as if it loomed right before her, inducing a suffocating sensation as if even straining her neck could not reach its summit.

"This…"

Bu Yuehua didn't know how she had arrived here, nor could she tell if this was reality or an illusion, but she noticed Xie Jinhuan standing nearby, studying the cliff, and asked:

"Where are we?"

Xie Jinhuan's memories after falling into the sea were sealed; upon suddenly seeing the cliff carved with "Feng Ling Yue Ying Zong," his eyes grew vacant. Hearing her voice, he turned his head:

"This is the Hidden Immortal Sect… Holy shit—!!!"

A sharp, explosive crack suddenly rang out across the beach!

Bu Yuehua, caught off guard, flinched violently, thinking something lurked behind her; she spun around frantically, but aside from sand and sea breeze, there was nothing unusual.

She was about to ask why Xie Jinhuan had reacted so wildly, but the reflection in his cold, icy eyes seemed off—she looked down:

Her deep blue dress had inexplicably transformed into a sheer, slanted skirt, with gold rings connecting two thin fabric panels that exposed her waist, smooth as lamb's fat, and her full, powerful thighs—raising her leg might reveal half her plump buttocks…

Her top was a low-cut design exposing both arms, its exquisite embroidery highlighting the lush, snow-white curves beneath; the fabric was semi-transparent, refreshingly light…

"Ah—!"

Bu Yuehua suddenly realized she was wearing the "stepmother skirt"—the most scandalous outfit even the most seductive Wu Sect witches dared not don—and her face paled in shock; she frantically pulled at the hem to cover her thighs.

But the sheer skirt fit perfectly—the gold-ringed fabric panels simply wouldn't close together.

As she tugged, the thin skirt slid smoothly along her skin, rotating fully: the front was now covered, but the back instantly revealed half her bare buttocks…

She could even see the exquisitely embroidered butterfly-knot panties—upper half made of transparent gauze…

Oh my god…

Xie Jinhuan suddenly caught sight of the seductively alluring Hua Shijie and stared in utter disbelief; upon regaining his senses, he spun around quickly:

"No no no! This won't do…"

He was speaking to the ghostly bride who loved to watch chaos unfold!

Unfortunately, Ye Hongshang stood beside the reclining chair on the cliff, gazing blankly around the small temple, utterly ignoring the two below.

Bu Yuehua was utterly exposed on the beach, unable to cast any spell, so she hugged her chest, face flushed, intending to explain she hadn't meant to dress like this—but then she realized something was wrong!

This was Xie Jinhuan's illusion, not her deliberately dressing to seduce a child!

Realizing this, Bu Yuehua trembled, her eyes filled with the pain of "I misjudged you":

"Xie Jinhuan! How could you do this? I'm your… your romantic companion's senior sister…"

Seeing Mei Qiu refuse to end the spell, Xie Jinhuan had no choice but to force himself to explain:

"Misunderstanding! I'm just a martial artist—my soul force is weak, this technique is unstable, and the environment changes every time. These are all illusions; the skirt's just cooler, and I didn't see anything…"

Bu Yuehua was an expert in illusions; she knew this was fake, and she could use her soul force to create any illusion she desired.

But if an illusion malfunctioned, it should produce bizarre, surreal scenes—this level of realism could only result from the caster deliberately guiding it.

She could even feel a chilly draft along her inner thighs…

"Were you thinking of me dressed like this while casting?"

"Absolutely not!"

"What you think is what I see—if you didn't think it, how could this illusion appear?"

"I… I don't know…"

Xie Jinhuan had no defense left—he could only beg Mei Qiu the Great Immortal to end the spell.

Bu Yuehua tried to break free from the illusion, but found the caster's control was tyrannical—she was completely trapped, with no way to find an exit; unless Xie Jinhuan voluntarily ended it, she was utterly powerless within the illusion…

"Huh?"

Bu Yuehua was stunned by the illusion's lifelike quality; she looked around, then urged:

"End it now!"

Xie Jinhuan silently searched for the ghostly bride—no response—so he said:

"I'm not lying—I really am unskilled. Before, I'd just wake up the next morning and never knew how to end it. The technique's in the sky—look for yourself. I'll move away."

He hurried toward the forest behind the beach, but after only a few steps—"Thud~"—he seemed to hit something.

Xie Jinhuan froze, felt the wall, then wondered if he could smash through the invisible barrier.

But Bu Yuehua, as an illusion expert, saw how far he'd walked and realized they were merely hallucinating, not dreaming—she immediately stopped him:

"Don't smash! You hit the inn room's wall—if you break it, you'll end up in the next room."

"Really?"

Xie Jinhuan reached out and touched—it truly felt like a room; he dared not experiment further and asked:

"Then what do we do now?"

Bu Yuehua looked down carefully—the skirt was sheerer, revealing half her thigh and waist, but not too much; she hugged her chest and looked up at the sky.

The sky was thick with star clouds, forming a vast network of lines—identical to the one Wan Yi had seen…

Seeing the Immortal Lady's flushed face as she studied the star map without speaking, Xie Jinhuan felt a twinge of embarrassment.

But the ghostly bride's taste was impeccable—this outfit, though overly revealing, suited her perfectly: her face like Bai Yu, hair like ink, exuding both dignity and the seductive wickedness of a demoness—every inch flawless. Still, it was utterly inappropriate for the mortal world—otherwise, every step she took would be a gift to him…

"Hmm… This is the Martial Dao Divine Scripture. Memorize every line, then draw from the accumulated wisdom of countless ancient predecessors, slowly refining a cultivation technique suited to yourself…"

"I understand. I'll look myself—you look too."

"Hehe... fine."

After those words, the two fell silent.

Bu Yuehua looked up at the sky; wearing this flirtatious sister's appearance, it was truly hard to get close enough to discuss martial arts together. She had intended to turn her back on Xie Jinhuan, but Bai Xi's hip line was unmistakably displayed, so facing him was no good either; she could only turn her right side, which had more fabric, toward Xie Jinhuan.

Xie Jinhuan also did not dare to move closer on his own initiative; he simply looked up at the sky with a long sigh and seriously began memorizing the cultivation technique.

However, after just a short while, his ear twitched slightly, and he heard something coming from afar:

Splash~

Splash~

The sound of iron chains rattling stirred up the irritability and unease buried deep in his heart.

Xie Jinhuan frowned, glanced toward the stone wall at the end of the beach, then shifted his gaze down to the pitch-black Shi Dong below; he tried hard to recall it in his mind, yet he could not remember the source of all this at all.

Bu Yuehua had originally been seriously studying the star chart, but halfway through she noticed Xie Jinhuan turning his head to look at her side; she had intended to pretend she hadn't noticed.

But this child, perhaps having never seen such a flirtatious sister before, kept staring at her, until her face grew hot and she felt uncomfortable all over; she wanted to cover up this ragged clothing but had nothing to use, so she could only turn her head:

"What are you looking at?"

Xie Jinhuan quickly withdrew his gaze and continued studying the star chart, only to discover that the ghost wife had even provided him with a one-stop service!

Just as the two were at their most awkward, a sea wind suddenly rose on the beach!

Whoosh~

The cold sea wind swept across the beach, making even Xie Jinhuan, who was properly dressed, feel a bit chilly; he tried to use the cultivation technique to resist it but it had no effect, and he shivered, drawing his neck in.

Bu Yuehua was dressed far too lightly; after a couple of gusts, her buttocks froze numb, and she instinctively clamped her legs together, trembling slightly; unable to endure it, she said:

"Aren't you cold? Can't you stop the wind?"

Xie Jinhuan simply could not stop it; at this moment, he could only follow the normal procedure, unbuttoning his outer robe and handing it to Senior Hua:

"I truly cannot control this illusionary realm; put on some clothes, don't freeze."

Bu Yuehua very much wanted the clothes, but wouldn't that fall into the flirt's little trick to woo a girl? She frowned and said:

"If I wear it, what will you do?"

"This is the created illusion I made; I can't very well freeze myself to death. If I can't stand the cold, the wind should disappear."

Bu Yuehua thought that was true, so she immediately took the warm robe and draped it over herself, preparing to see when Xie Jinhuan would end his cultivation.

But Xie Jinhuan stood bare-chested in the sea wind; after a moment of blowing, he rubbed his large arms with both hands, looked around, and opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped.

Bu Yuehua was a bit suspicious this was a self-pity scheme, but Xie Jinhuan's reaction really did not seem faked; his eyes showed a hint of helplessness:

"If it really doesn't work, just end the cultivation and learn later."

"I truly cannot end it; I can only wait until I wake up. Don't worry, I'm fine; I won't freeze to death."

"..."

Bu Yuehua had nothing to say; wrapped in the warm robe, she waited a while longer, only to discover that snow was actually falling on the beach, so cold that her ankles were nearly losing sensation.

Xie Jinhuan, meanwhile, "hiss~"ed as he sucked in cold air, hugged his arms, and began pacing back and forth to warm up, secretly thinking the ghost wife was a bit ruthless; to create an opportunity for him, she was truly preparing to freeze him into an ice pop...

Although Bu Yuehua did not understand the principle of this illusion technique, she could see that Xie Jinhuan was indeed not using a self-pity scheme to woo a girl; after a brief consideration, she opened the robe:

"You come in too; don't..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xie Jinhuan had already slipped into the robe; the two of them shared it, huddled together on the beach to keep warm.

Bu Yuehua was wearing a bit little, but at least she still had clothes on her body; seeing that this child pressed close without any ulterior motives, she put on a quiet, unconcerned appearance and continued studying the star chart...

At the same time, inside an inn room.

Outside the window, wind and snow howled; within the shops on the street, one could still hear some idle chatter from passersby:

"Come, come, drink..."

"Eating hot-pot mutton on a snowy day, you must dip it in dry sauce; one bite like that, numb and spicy, sweating all over—that's the real deal..."

"I heard many people died over in Bai Hua County; the Xing Detective Office people have gone there. What's going on?"

"I heard this matter is related to the prophecy 'The nation perishes in red, demons approach Zhou land'..."

"Shh! Do you want to die? Good wine and meat can't shut your mouth; you keep talking about things that cost heads..."

"So fragrant..."

Meiqiu had originally already fallen asleep, but hearing these things in the middle of the night, how could a bird sleep?

For this reason, halfway through she flipped up from inside the bamboo hat, ran to the window, used her beak to pull out the ragged cloth blocking the gap, and peered out at the street; even if she couldn't eat, just looking could satisfy her craving, couldn't it?

But the broken room was already drafty on all four sides; once this was pulled open, the wild wind and blizzard from outside, whoosh, rushed in, lifting the curtains and the robes and hair of the two seated figures.

Meiqiu's black fur was naturally cold-resistant; at first she noticed nothing wrong, but halfway through, when she turned back to look, she discovered Ah Huan's eyebrows were frosted over!

"Gooji?!"

Meiqiu was startled; she quickly flew to his shoulder, pressed with her little claws, found he hadn't frozen to death, then returned to the window to continue gazing at the food...

(End of this chapter)