Song Ciwan had reaped a great haul. After "Xie Yunfeng" vanished into thin air, he left behind three Primordial Longevity Pearls. Including those she had acquired before, Song Ciwan had now obtained a total of sixty-three Primordial Longevity Pearls from the Eternal Pavilion.
But that wasn’t the most important part. The main prize was the huge collection of emotional orbs Song Ciwan had harvested.
Just a mont ago, Xie Yunxiang had contributed another: [Human desires. The shock, joy, and worry of a Qi Transformation Stage Cultivator. One catty and one tael. Redeemable.]
The emotions from Xie Yunxiang would eventually transform into Song Ciwan’s Cultivation, while those from the other Cultivators—since they were "newcors"—had a high probability of yielding new Cultivation Techniques or Spells when she redeed them.
However, now was not the right ti to redeem them, so Song Ciwan simply kept these treasures stored within the Heaven and Earth Scale.
She left the vicinity of the Eternal Pavilion with Xie Yunxiang. Back in the Mortal World, atop Wangjiang Peak, the screen of light reflecting the events at the Pavilion automatically dissipated upon their departure.
The Eternal Pavilion still stood by the Black River as always. The Black River’s waters surged, and within the Pavilion, the mysterious spirits remained packed tightly together, pressing against one another like maggots, squirming throughout the eerie structure.
A mont later, two mysterious spirits rose to their feet in the center of the pavilion.
One looked like "Xie Zhang," the other like "Xie Yunfeng."
Strange smiles appeared on the faces of both spirits. They looked at each other, and one said, "Lost and deluded for decades, yet today I have attained eternity."
The other said, "Lost and deluded for more than ten years, yet today I have attained eternity."
When they finished, they declared in unison, "Excellent!"
More mysterious spirits got to their feet. Had Song Ciwan and her companions still been there, they would have discovered that these spirits, now standing once more, all had familiar faces.
The mysterious spirits that the group had previously annihilated, reducing them to ash and smoke, had all reappeared.
It was as if they had never dissipated. Smiles spread across their deathly pale faces as they spoke in one voice, "Where in this world can one find eternity? Why, only by becoming like us!"
"HEE HEE HEE..."
Their laughter mingled with the roar of the Black River, echoing around the ancient-seeming stone bridge.
Song Ciwan and Xie Yunxiang left the area of the Black River, turning onto another street.
Xie Yunxiang was in exceptionally high spirits and couldn’t stop talking. "Brother Xin, I never imagined that you’ve not only achieved Mastery in Fire Techniques, but in Thunder Skills as well! Thunder Skills are much harder to cultivate than Fire Techniques; they require a natural strand of Thunder Elent Spiritual Light. To have reached such a level, Brother Xin, you must be a genius with the Thunder Elent."
As he called "Xin Mian" a Thunder Elent genius, the pride in Xie Yunxiang’s voice was practically overflowing, as if he shared in the glory himself.
The Heaven and Earth Scale manifested once more: [Human desires. The joy, delight, and worry of a Qi Transformation Stage Cultivator. Eight taels and two maces. Redeemable.]
Xie Yunxiang had contributed another emotional orb, but its weight was starting to decrease. This ca as no surprise. There’s a limit to a person’s emotional fluctuations; a point of fatigue is only natural.
Song Ciwan turned to glance at Xie Yunxiang again. ’I should really let him rest,’ she thought. ’Draining the pond for fish is a bad habit, after all. I can’t let this good Daoist brother be fleeced so badly he goes bald.’
Looking around, she saw the streets of Illusory Nether City were as dim and dilapidated as ever. All sorts of strange and bizarre noises still drifted from the houses lining the road.
High above, at the apex of the gray, misty sky, the floating buildings still hung in the air. Light and shadow flickered at their peaks, creating a sight as surreal as a twisted dream.
As Song Ciwan walked down the street, she suddenly got the feeling that sothing strange was tailing her. Though there were no other pedestrians in sight, a prickle of her Spiritual Sense made her feel an indescribable unease.
She frowned slightly and suddenly pulled Xie Yunxiang aside. "Brother Xie, we..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Song Ciwan suddenly raised a hand and flicked her fingers behind her.
A shower of fire erupted from her fingertips. This deluge, a mixture of Samadhi True Fire and Heart Sutra Fire, scorched the very air around her and Xie Yunxiang.
A faint, piercing shriek seed to echo through the air.
It was as if so invisible entity had been incinerated by the fiery rain.
The Heaven and Earth Scale appeared, having collected an orb of vapor, ethereal and of an indescribable color: [Floating Mysterious Ghost Spirit, master unknown. One mace and three cents. Redeemable.]
Song Ciwan’s expression flickered. She imdiately swept aside the rain of fire around her.
She grabbed Xie Yunxiang and cast the Wind Manipulation Technique. A wisp of dark wind rose to et them, carrying the pair far down the street.
She did not stop the Wind Manipulation Technique until they had traveled a great distance, only halting when the street ahead began to change. The dilapidated houses grew fewer, and the strange sounds from the shops on either side seed to fade.
She stopped in the middle of the street and looked back.
Of course, she saw nothing.
The streets of Illusory Nether City remained chaotic and desolate. Specks of Nether Qi floated faintly in the air, creating a scene that seed to hold both everything and nothing at all.
In any case, it was inexplicably unsettling.
Xie Yunxiang clutched his chest. Although he hadn’t expended any effort while Song Ciwan carried him along, his Cultivation was low, and his body could barely withstand such speed.
Gasping for breath, he asked in alarm, "Brother Xin, what... what just happened? Why? Why did we suddenly take off like that?"
Song Ciwan frowned, not answering imdiately.
Because at that very mont, the sound of footsteps echoed from the depths of the street ahead.
Then, the small number of Primordial Longevity Pearls that Song Ciwan had placed in her Storage Talisman began to grow inexplicably hot.
Even through the Storage Talisman, the heat seed to pierce the Talisman itself, searing her nerves.
The next mont, the footsteps grew louder. Several Martial Artists, wielding various weapons, appeared before Song Ciwan and Xie Yunxiang.
Upon seeing the pair, one of the Martial Artists shouted, "There they are! They have Primordial Longevity Pearls! Get them!"
Before the words had even faded, the Martial Artist in the lead suddenly drew a long spear from his back.
The mont he drew the spear, he seed to transform into a ferocious tiger—a tiger coiling its body, a tiger leaping through the air, a tiger throwing its spear!
The long spear, carrying an overwhelming, murderous aura, shot straight toward Song Ciwan.
It all happened so suddenly that Xie Yunxiang, at least, had no ti to react.
He couldn’t understand what was happening, nor could he fathom why these strangers would attack on sight, their first move a lethal blow!
’Oh, right,’ he thought. ’They ntioned the Primordial Longevity Pearls.’
’How did they know he and Brother Xin had Primordial Longevity Pearls?’
In the ti it took for the thought to flash through Xie Yunxiang’s mind, he saw Song Ciwan flick her sleeve.
BOOM!
A brilliant bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, colliding with the long spear.
Beneath the thunderbolt, the spear, with its overwhelming murderous aura, was instantly sent flying backward, snapping in midair with a series of sharp CRACKS.
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