Chapter 1006: with translation of chapter title

Xiao Jiu → Xiao Jiu (already in glossary)

When light appeared again before their eyes, Xiao Jiu saw themselves standing on the bank of a river.

The river is not named.

River water.

I don't know if it's because there was no wind, but the river surface actually had not even a ripple.

Xiao Jiu crouched down, reached out to touch the water surface, but grasped at nothing.

It turns out that I am truly inside the Dream-Weaving Phantom Mirror.

In this space, Xiao Jiu is merely a spectator; everything that happens inside is what Tang Yaocao once experienced, and Xiao Jiu can only observe and feel as carefully as possible, unable to do anything else.

The Dream-Weaving consists of five major chapters and a prologue; with each scene different, Xiao Jiu's situation inside also varies.

Xiao Jiu stood up, looked left and right, determined a direction, then walked east along the riverbank.

If this underground river connects to the direction of Hu Shan, then heading east is definitely the correct way.

After walking only a short while, Xiao Jiu felt a fluctuation in the Qìchǎng of the entire space; she immediately stopped, sensing that something had happened.

In the next moment, Xiao Jiu saw that the previously calm river surface suddenly rippled with wave after wave.

Xiao Jiu looked back in the direction from which the ripples were spreading.

In the center of the river behind her, who knows when, a multitude of colorful spirit butterflies suddenly appeared, dancing continuously above the water, as if performing or conducting a solemn ritual.

The ripples on the river surface began from beneath the spirit butterflies.

Xiao Jiu watched the center of the spreading ripples; at first it was just a small vortex, then the vortex kept growing larger, spinning faster, and the undulations of the river's flow became ever greater.

At that moment, a girl's face slowly emerged from beneath the vortex.

It was an exquisitely beautiful, youthful face—no makeup, yet her skin was white with a hint of pink, her brows and eyes like a painting, her ink-black long hair flowing loose, swaying endlessly with the water's ripples.

She lay face-up toward the sky, her face always pressed against the water's surface, never fully revealed.

Could this be Tang Yaocao as she looked at thirteen or fourteen?

Under Xiao Jiu's gaze, a gorgeous spirit butterfly the size of a palm lightly landed on the girl's lips.

The scene before her eyes was too beautiful, so beautiful it felt somewhat unreal.

But at that moment, Xiao Jiu noticed that the spirit butterfly perched on the girl's lips, continually fluttering its wings, quickly turned transparent, its wingbeats growing smaller and smaller… until it vanished completely.

In the next instant, another spirit butterfly lightly alighted on the girl's lips.

The whole process was utterly ethereal.

As the number of spirit butterflies dwindled, the girl's face became increasingly watery-spirited and ever more delicate.

Xiao Jiu did not know how long she had watched, nor how many spirit butterflies the girl had absorbed in total; she was merely an observer, and what she saw was not happening in the present.

It was merely an insignificant fragment of Tang Yaocao's tangled memories.

Yet this small fragment dealt Xiao Jiu's emotions a considerable shock.

It turned out that Tang Yaocao had been quietly cultivating in this way, slowly, in the underground river beneath Lingdie Valley.

She cultivated the Ghost Dao, yet she absorbed the Spiritual Qi of the spirit butterflies.

If, before coming to Lingdie Valley, Tang Yaocao had not created those killing sins, this path of cultivation would have been entirely correct.

Xiao Jiu sighed once more: What a pity.

Just as Xiao Jiu was thinking this, the girl's face, which had been continually turned toward the sky… suddenly moved.

She slowly turned her face, looking toward the direction where Xiao Jiu stood.

Xiao Jiu was startled; she could actually see herself?!

Moreover, the sight of the girl looking over was profoundly strange—her face had clearly turned, yet she remained underwater; at some point she had opened her eyes.

But those eyes were completely black, without a speck of white; meeting her gaze was utterly frightening.

It was obvious that, even within the Dream-Weaving Phantom Mirror, the other party had sensed the intruder's presence; Xiao Jiu had been exposed.

Since the other could sense her existence, Xiao Jiu saw no point in hiding; she lifted her foot and prepared to walk toward them.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she moved, the entire space convulsed again, a powerful suction pulling Xiao Jiu away.

Meanwhile, the girl's face in her vision remained still, but the water surface rippled widely, and that lovely face gradually blurred with the undulating ripples…

Huff!

Xiao Jiu suddenly opened her eyes, exhaled a breath, and her whole person seemed to come alive in an instant.

She quickly calmed her emotions, discovering that she was still standing in the heart of Lingdie Valley, above her head the Soul-guiding Lamp continued to spin without cease.

Xiao Jiu furrowed her brows—what was going on?

Just moments ago she had clearly been inside the Formation Array of the Buddhist niche and the ancient painting; after activating the Witchcraft Dream-Weaving, she discovered the underground river and the girl's face within it.

Even after emerging from that phantom mirror, Xiao Jiu felt she should still be within the Fǎzhèn of the Buddhist niche and ancient painting, not simply burst out of the array without doing anything.

Xiao Jiu then carefully recalled what had just happened, and she realized something was off.

When she had fallen just now, the sensation was too real—not something that would happen while confined by a Formation Array, but rather as if another force had yanked her out of it.

In other words, by the time Xiao Jiu landed beside the underground river, she was no longer inside the Formation Array set up by the Buddhist niche and ancient painting.

Therefore, when she withdrew again, she returned directly to reality.

In this space, besides Tang Yaocao, could there actually be someone else?

If so, who is that person?

The other party guided me into the underground river space and showed me the scene of Tang Yaocao cultivating by absorbing spirit butterflies; what is the purpose of doing this?

Xiao Jiu's thoughts instantly fell into chaos.

But at present there is not much time left for Xiao Jiu to ponder carefully.

Tang Yaocao has been gone for a while now; by this time the situation at Hu Shan must surely be bad.

Xiao Jiu must accelerate the process; otherwise, when Tang Yaocao returns to kill again, it will be difficult to break the Formation Array and find her remains.

Since there is another powerful force below, and it has shown goodwill toward Xiao Jiu, then Xiao Jiu can act more boldly.

Xiao Jiu put away the Soul-guiding Lamp, bit open a finger, and with the bloody finger quickly drew a lightning-summoning sigil in the palm, chanting a spell, then flung the palm open toward the sky.

In the next instant, a bolt of thunder pierced through layer after layer of barriers and struck the heart of Lingdie Valley.

The tremendous thunder was accompanied by vast sheets of lightning falling down, as electric currents surged wildly through Lingdie Valley, and Xiao Jiu's gaze followed the lightning, wandering through Lingdie Valley.

Soon, Xiao Jiu raised the outer corners of the eyebrows, and the corners of the mouth curled into a smile……