Apart from the sound of heartbeats, some rustling noises gradually arose around them. Yu Yi felt an eerie gaze upon her. It was as if countless "beings" were surrounding them, observing her, sniffing her, discussing her.
Crane Senior Brother's feathers stood on end.
Suddenly, something heavily licked the back of Yu Yi's hand. The wet tongue, covered in coarse barbs, wrapped around her wrist and tried to burrow into her sleeve. Yu Yi's skin crawled from the sensation. She reflexively grabbed Crane Senior Brother's beak and thrust it forcefully towards the unseen entity.
There was no other choice; her spiritual power hadn't recovered since entering the misty mountains. Moreover, it seemed spiritual power couldn't be used in this strange place at all.
Crane Senior Brother had practiced with her in the Bamboo Grove Secret Realm for five years, and the human and crane had developed quite a rapport. The crane unhesitatingly offered its neck to Yu Yi, allowing her to wield it like a sword.
With Crane Senior Brother's steel-like sharp beak, they managed to temporarily drive back whatever was surrounding them.
Taking advantage of this brief respite, Yu Yi silently recited a sword incantation. Moments later, a faint green light flickered in the dark space, sinking deep into the darkness.
Both human and crane's spirits were immediately lifted. Yu Yi, lying flat on the crane's back, pointed at the green light and said, "Crane Senior Brother, it's over there."
The crane immediately spread its wings and flew towards the source of the green light. The rustling sounds continued to pursue them, like waves surging in the darkness - damp, sticky, and incessant.
This dark space seemed infinitely vast. The light of the Green Bamboo Sword was clearly visible ahead, yet they never seemed to get any closer to it. After what felt like an eternity, they finally neared the green light.
Yu Yi reached out and grasped the Green Bamboo Sword, finally feeling its solid form in her hand. She sighed in relief, "Got it!"
Now they needed to find a way out of this hellish place.
But in this realm of darkness, there was no up or down, left or right - just an endless void. Apart from the rhythmic thumping of heartbeats, there was only the persistent rustling that followed in their wake. It was impossible to discern any sense of direction.
Yu Yi brandished her sword to ward off the unknown entities that were once again closing in around them. A glimmer of spiritual light flashed in her eyes, and under her spiritual vision, she faintly glimpsed a weak, firefly-like white haze deep in the profound darkness.
She used the light from the Green Bamboo Sword to guide the crane, saying, "Crane Senior Brother, there's light over there. It might be the exit. Follow the sword's light and fly."
The crane spread its wings and swiftly pursued the sword's light. The white haze that had seemed so distant turned out to be much closer than the Green Bamboo Sword had been earlier.
The white light ahead suddenly expanded, engulfing both human and crane in an instant.
The entities pursuing them suddenly became agitated. The white light illuminated dense shadows of people and beasts around them, along with writhing tentacle-like shapes. They surrounded the patch of white light, twisting and howling violently, but not daring to approach.
As they entered the white light, Yu Yi instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes. When the dazzling light dissipated, she was shocked to find herself in front of a tall gate tower.
The tower was embedded in a mountainside, predominantly painted in vermilion with black tiles and red pillars. Inside the tower was a heavy black door.
Carved on the door was a strange totem of a divine official. The official sat cross-legged in the center, with a sacred and compassionate expression. To the left and right of his shoulders were successive rows of overlapping faces, as if they were shadowy incarnations of the official. The carving became increasingly blurred towards the edges.
Beneath the official's seat were layers upon layers of stacked furrows and wrinkles. These wrinkles were polished to an exceptionally smooth and delicate finish, resembling layers of stacked fat. The sacred official sat atop this mound of flesh, his lower body almost merging with it, creating a jarring and unsettling juxtaposition that was quite uncomfortable to look at.
Suddenly, music began to play behind her. Yu Yi turned around and was surprised to find a hundred or so people standing in neat rows just a few steps away.
They were all dressed in luxurious white robes, with the hem embroidered in gold thread with patterns similar to the flesh mountain beneath the official on the door. Regardless of gender, they were all young and beautiful, with an extraordinary air about them.
With hands clasped and raised before them, they chanted blessing scriptures, bowing and kneeling towards the divine official on the door. It appeared to be some sort of ceremonial ritual.
Yu Yi and Crane Senior Brother happened to be standing right in front of them, inadvertently receiving their prostrations, though the people seemed completely unaware of their presence.
After the ceremony, the man who had been leading the ritual entered the heavy black door alone, while the rest remained kneeling and chanting scriptures.
At the back of the crowd, two young people with childlike faces took advantage of the family head's departure to relax their solemn postures and whisper to each other.
Yu Yi brazenly walked over to eavesdrop.
"I hope the White Taisui produces more this year, so we can refine more White Spirit Pills. This is my year to form my golden core, and if I only get one pill, it won't be enough."
White Taisui? Come to think of it, the flesh mountain beneath the official on the door did resemble Taisui.
She seemed to have heard somewhere that thousands of years ago, the Ji Clan of Immortals was rumored to worship White Taisui as a deity. Had they traveled thousands of years into the past? That didn't seem likely.
Perhaps they had entered some kind of illusion? If so, they would need to find the formation's eye to escape.
Yu Yi glanced at the young man speaking again. He looked even younger than her, probably only thirteen or fourteen, yet he was already preparing to form his golden core. The talent of the Ji Clan was indeed enviable.
The person next to him spoke during a pause in the chanting: "Father has already made arrangements for you, requesting an extra spirit pill. If the request isn't granted," she paused, pursing her lips slightly before continuing, "he'll find other means to obtain one for you."
Yu Yi bent down, looking at each person's face, trying to find anyone who resembled Xue Chenjing.
Before long, the family head who had entered the black door earlier emerged again. He had gone in alone, but now he was followed by a group of white-robed child-sized attendants, each carrying a black jade box.
Crane Senior Brother craned its neck, following behind the small attendants, trying to peck at the boxes they were carrying. Of course, it couldn't actually touch them - the people here couldn't see them, and they couldn't affect anything in this place either.
Yu Yi stepped forward, trying to get a closer look at the White Spirit Pills to see what made them so special. However, the black jade boxes were tightly sealed, preventing her from seeing or even smelling their contents.
She glanced at the eyes of one of the child attendants and realized that they were all clay puppets, not living beings.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, the family head directed these puppet children to place their black boxes into a refining furnace taller than a person. He then activated the furnace's formation and ignited the true fire within, beginning the pill refinement process.
Scorching heat immediately engulfed the area, even causing the air to ripple with waves of heat.
After delivering the boxes, the child attendants lined up and returned to the heavy black door.
Yu Yi wiped the fine sweat from her brow and looked around. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Crane Senior Brother lingering by the black door. Just before it closed, the crane's snow-white body flickered, and it actually slipped inside with the group of attendants.
"Crane Senior Brother, don't wander off!" Yu Yi called out urgently. Seeing the door about to close, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and squeeze through the gap in three quick steps.
Unexpectedly, the space behind the door was not dark. What met her eyes was a long corridor with intricate landscape murals and totems carved on both walls. Every ten steps, there was an ever-burning lamp embedded in the wall, its pearly light reminiscent of moonlight, casting a silvery frost on the ground.
Although inside the mountain, this corridor looked far more exquisite and luxurious than even the most carefully crafted entrance halls of wealthy families.
Yu Yi grabbed Crane Senior Brother by its long neck, pulling it to her side, and warned, "Crane Senior Brother, why do you always have to dive into every cave you see? This isn't one of your fish-hiding caves. Now that we're in here, we might not be able to get out."
The crane tilted its head, letting out two innocent squawks.
Yu Yi sighed. The door behind them had already closed. Made of heavy iron and over ten feet tall, it was impossible to budge even slightly. Since they couldn't go back, their only option was to follow the child attendants deeper inside, hoping to find another exit.
After walking along the corridor for about fifteen minutes, a hollow courtyard appeared at the end, where an imposing temple stood. The ground was covered with eternal lamps, illuminating this temple buried deep within the mountain, without a trace of darkness.
"How strange that the temple is built inside the mountain," Yu Yi muttered to herself. Was this meant to worship or imprison the gods? Could the deities inside a temple built within a mountain still receive offerings?
She surveyed her surroundings while stepping over the temple threshold, following the footsteps of the young acolytes.
Though the temple appeared grand from the outside, it contained only one main hall. As such, the space inside was quite spacious, with a total of twelve round pillars on the left and right. In the center of the great hall, on the altar, was enshrined the strange divine official carved on the main gate earlier.
The statue was enormous, almost like a small hill. Now in three dimensions rather than flat, the layers of fleshy taisui piled under the divine official's seat looked even more realistic. When light shone on them, those folds of fat seemed to writhe, making it even more unsettling.
The white-robed acolytes entered the hall and lined up on both sides, serving at the feet of the divine official, appearing incredibly small in comparison.
Yu Yi was stunned by the central statue and only noticed after a while that someone was sitting on a rush mat in the middle of the great hall.
That person had his back to the hall entrance. Judging by his figure, he was a young man, dressed in the same white robes as the surrounding acolytes. His long hair was bound in a simple headdress, with the ends cascading down to his waist in seaweed-like waves.
Suddenly, the youth in the hall turned his head, his gaze piercing through the empty hall and directly meeting Yu Yi's eyes.
Well, well, it was that fellow Xue Chenjing.
Yu Yi gripped her Green Bamboo Sword tightly and strode into the hall, calling out, "Xue Chenjing, let us out."
Her voice echoed in the empty hall as Xue Chenjing slowly stood up and walked towards her.
Yu Yi watched him warily. The young man was tall and slender, with an extremely pale complexion that accentuated his ink-black eyebrows and eyes as deep as pools. His originally sharp features now seemed softer and more gentle. The silvery frost of the eternal lamps coated his form, giving him an almost transparent, fragile aura.
Somehow, Yu Yi felt that the Xue Chenjing before her seemed different from before.
Staring at him like this, Yu Yi's tone involuntarily softened as she spoke again, "Xue Chenjing, I didn't mean to run into your formation. I just wanted to retrieve my sword..."
The soft, pleading voice that reached her ears was at first unrecognizable as her own. It wasn't until she finished speaking that she suddenly realized with a start.
What was going on? Was that her speaking? Had her state of mind been influenced by him again? What was he trying to act out this time?
Yu Yi immediately tore her gaze away from him, but from the corner of her eye, she saw Xue Chenjing walk straight past her, completely ignoring her words, and exit the hall.
The puppet acolytes serving in the great hall followed behind him as he walked out.
One of the young acolytes, following his footsteps, asked, "Young Master, do you want to bathe and rest now?"
Xue Chenjing paused, gently patting the acolyte's head, and said softly, "I don't want to rest yet. You can go play by yourselves. I'll call you if I need anything."
The acolyte nodded, but when Xue Chenjing turned to continue walking, they still followed him step by step. It seemed that here, they had nothing to do except serve him.
Xue Chenjing, trailed by this group of little followers, walked two laps around the courtyard before saying resignedly, "Alright, go prepare hot water for me."
Only then did the white-robed acolytes stop following him, turning towards the back of the temple to obediently prepare his bath.
Yu Yi, having adjusted her mindset, quickly walked up to Xue Chenjing's side again and waved her hand in front of his eyes. Xue Chenjing had no reaction.
"Strange, I could have sworn he saw me when he turned his head," Yu Yi said to Crane Senior Brother, who tilted his head with a foolish bird-like expression.
She thought for a moment, then raised her Green Bamboo Sword and thrust it directly towards Xue Chenjing's eyes.
The sword tip was less than a hair's breadth from his eyeball, barely touching his long eyelashes, yet Xue Chenjing remained completely oblivious, his pupils not even dilating.
Yu Yi turned the sword tip aside, letting it brush past his cheek. The breeze from the blade stirred the strands of hair by his ear.
Xue Chenjing's movements suddenly halted. He looked around puzzled and said softly, "Who's there?"
Yu Yi observed his reaction while reminding herself not to be influenced by him. She responded, "It's me, your dear wife. I don't know what kind of strange place this is, and I didn't mean to intrude. Could you please let us out?"
Xue Chenjing furrowed his brow slightly, seemingly unable to hear her voice or see her presence. He stood in place for a moment, then lowered his eyes and shook his head self-mockingly, "I must be imagining things. How could he possibly let anyone in here?"
As he spoke, Xue Chenjing started walking towards the back of the temple, apparently intending to rest.
Yu Yi, growing anxious, reached out to grab him but grasped only air, her hand passing right through Xue Chenjing's body. Yu Yi frowned at her hand. So, like the people outside, he couldn't perceive their existence either?
She suddenly remembered that since seeing him here, she hadn't heard that annoying system voice from him either.
Xue Chenjing rounded the corridor outside the temple, heading towards the living quarters at the back. His figure was about to disappear around the corner.
After a moment's thought, Yu Yi chased after him again. Holding her Green Bamboo Sword, she pointed the tip at Xue Chenjing's back and thrust it directly at him.
The Green Bamboo Sword pierced through Xue Chenjing's right shoulder without causing him any harm, but Xue Chenjing still sensed something amiss. He lowered his head slightly, raising his hand to press on his right shoulder, and suddenly turned around, asking again, "Who's there? How did you get in here?"
The confusion and surprise on his face didn't seem feigned. Yu Yi studied his expression, withdrew her sword, and moved even closer to him, though she cautiously avoided looking into those beguiling eyes.
She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted near his ear, "I'm inclined to believe that you really can't see me, but you can sense me a little, right? What kind of strange place is this? How can I get out?"
Xue Chenjing stood quietly, his eyes slightly lowered, concentrating on sensing the presence of another person.
After a long while, he faintly heard a weak female voice intermittently reaching his ears. Catching bits and pieces, he asked, "You want to get out?"
He shook his head, indicating his helplessness: "This is the deepest part of his Purple Palace of the Heart Sea. Unless he personally comes in to lead you out, you can't leave."
Yu Yi pursued him, asking, "Who is 'he'? Isn't this your heart sea? Xue Chenjing, what trick are you playing now?"
Xue Chenjing maintained his listening posture for a good while before saying softly, "I'm sorry, I can't really hear what you're saying."
He then started walking again, slowly heading into the living quarters. Yu Yi raised her sword and poked him several times, finally leaving the sword embedded in his body as she shouted angrily, "Can you hear me now?"
Xue Chenjing seemed to sense her anger and tried to reassure her, "Don't worry. He won't allow outsiders to stay here for too long. He should come to lead you out soon."
"I'm quite surprised that he managed to let someone intrude this far."
