Chen Yi looked at Yin Weiyin, whose legs had gone weak, her hands clutching the tip of the Peach Wood Sword.
If Yin Tingxue hadn’t sensed that the situation in the Scripture Pavilion was dire, he wouldn’t have co in. Yet, shortly after entering, he unexpectedly encountered this female crown thrusting her sword straight at him.
A trace of hostility flickered in Chen Yi’s eyes as he fixed his gaze on the female crown, his fingers sliding along the blade until they grasped her pale jade wrist, which trembled even more violently.
She actually wanted to kill him?
"Yin Weiyin."
His voice was indifferent.
As his words fell, a familiar shiver spread through her heart, and the female crown stumbled and fell onto the ground.
This feeling was unmistakable—it was really him!
It’s over...
She felt the fear in her heart magnify, her legs instinctively trembling, her teeth chattering, as she raised her face:
"I—I..."
Confusion was surging, consuming nearly her entire Heart Lake, leaving it unrecognizable from its previous form.
Chen Yi pinched the Peach Wood Sword, scrutinizing her from top to bottom,
"That strike carried killing intent. You wanted to kill ?"
The royal woman froze upon hearing these words, as if she’d fallen into an icy abyss.
The man towered above her, gazing down with an intimidating presence, the shadows swallowing her whole. She was engulfed by imnse panic, her open mouth unable to utter a single word.
At that mont, the nearby girl stirred.
Yin Tingxue spoke up: "Sister Weiyang didn’t do it on purpose."
Using her Heavenly Ear Technique, she faintly perceived Yin Weiyin’s inner thoughts.
Her words imdiately cleared most of the tension. Hearing this, Chen Yi dimd the sharpness in his eyes. He had already suspected sothing was amiss—it was not in Yin Weiyin’s nature to lash out abruptly without cause.
He retracted his gaze, allowing the female crown to finally breathe half a sigh of relief. She cast a grateful glance at Yin Tingxue.
Yin Weiyin dared not imagine what her fate would have been if the princess hadn’t spoken up.
After all, that strike indeed carried heavy killing intent.
All this ti, Chen Yi’s shadow of confusion had tornted her Heart Lake. No matter how much resentnt she harbored, she could only hold out hope for the day she masterfully cultivated and cast it aside.
As long as she reached the Golden Core Realm, condense her worldly fortune, Chen Yi—a re mortal—could no longer manipulate her.
And like King Goujian in history, she’d endure bitter hardships until, one day, she utterly shattered Chen Yi, forcing him to understand the aning of devastation: reduced to bone and ashes, maddened like a wooden puppet...
All of this hinged on Chen Yi not obtaining the harvesting thod.
Yin Weiyin’s thoughts fluctuated as she propped herself up against a bookshelf, adjusted her Taoist robes, and rasped:
"This demon in the Scripture Pavilion thrives on human fear and confusion. It manipulates paper effigies to mimic your appearance, so... when I saw it back then, I didn’t have ti to think—I struck right away."
After finishing, she nervously glanced at Chen Yi.
Chen Yi, who hadn’t been inside the Scripture Pavilion for long, hadn’t encountered paper effigies akin to Yin Weiyin’s. He was half-convinced as he listened.
"It’s a reasonable explanation," Chen Yi responded flatly.
Yin Weiyin exclaid in surprise: "You didn’t encounter anything along the way?"
"Nothing at all, just a winding path."
It was the princess who answered.
The female crown pondered their words. Journeying with Lu Ying and the other two East Palace won, she had experienced separations repeatedly, possibly due to the demon’s manipulative paper effigies. Yet Chen Yi and Yin Tingxue remained unimpeded—could it be that the demon had purposely cleared their way, welcoming them as esteed guests?
But... did the demon intend to greet Chen Yi or Yin Tingxue?
"Where are Lu Ying and the others?"
Chen Yi asked then.
The female crown replied, "I’m not sure. I was planning to break the array here to locate them naturally."
Chen Yi questioned, "Do you know the array’s workings?"
Having stayed within the Scripture Pavilion for an unknown length of ti, and carefully observing as the suspected Worm Demon revealed itself, Yin Weiyin had pieced together so clues. She offered:
"I’ve co to so conclusions. The array inside the Scripture Pavilion uses the demon as its core, similar to the practice of raising guardian spirits for protection. But its function has been distorted for malevolent purposes. Instead of warding off evil, it suppresses righteousness. That explains why there are Buddha statues with talismans stuck on them along the path."
Yin Weiyin’s explanation prompted Chen Yi to focus. "So, in other words, to destroy the array we must eliminate the demon first?"
The female crown calculated briefly, then nodded slightly.
"Let’s go, then."
Chen Yi didn’t want to delay anymore. Every mont wasted increased the danger to Lu Ying and the others.
The female crown shared his urgency. Seeing Chen Yi and Yin Tingxue move ahead, she followed suit, keeping close behind.
"Stay close to ."
Saying this, Chen Yi grabbed her hand.
Yin Weiyin stiffened montarily but then relaxed. In the perilous confines of the Scripture Pavilion, his grasping hand unexpectedly offered her a sense of security.
The warmth of his palm seed to seep into her heart, startling her into realization.
"No need to hold hands..."
She slightly recoiled, speaking quietly with her head lowered:
"I’ll hold onto your robe."
Chen Yi didn’t care for her awkward display of self-consciousness and decided not to argue. He loosened his grip imdiately.
Yin Weiyin quickly grabbed hold of his robe, letting out a breath of relief. A faint trace of longing swept through her heart, but it vanished in an instant—so fleeting she didn’t even notice.
............
At the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion.
Lu Ying stood sword in hand, guarding the unconscious Dong Gong Ruoshu behind her, eyes fixed warily on the shadowy entity before her.
Under faint light, countless serpent scales glimred. A massive snake tail swayed, and shadows slithered ominously.
"Yin Sword Mountain cultivators are working to break the array. Have them stop, and I’ll send you and your companion out safely."
From the darkness, crimson snake pupils slowly erged, accompanied by eerie hisses. As its serpent head rose, faintly-feathered wings could be discerned.
The demon serpent, Tengshe, fed on human terror and turmoil, embodying calamity and unease.
"I never expected such a rare beast, rarely seen even on the mountain, to be lurking here."
Lu Ying didn’t respond to Tengshe’s proposal; instead, she answered it with a remark unrelated to its offer.
Her seemingly calm words made Tengshe’s crimson pupils blaze with ire as it exhaled an angry breath,
"If not for treacherous mortals using unborn infants’ terror as bait, how could I have ended up trapped here!"
Enraged, Tengshe’s fury caused the structure to tremble slightly. Lu Ying’s fingers twitched as she grasped sothing from its outburst. She pressed further:
"Using unborn infants’ terror as bait?"
The massive serpent head shifted, fixing its gaze directly on her. Its deanor seed to calm as it let out a sinister laugh:
"There’s no harm in telling you. I’ve been trapped here for over a century. As a predator of terror, I die without sustenance. Do you wonder why terror thrives in a sect like Joyful Sect, where indulgence runs rampant? Ever pondered why terror abounds amidst male-female revelry?"
Lu Ying frowned. "Why?"
"The Joyful Sect invites heroes from across the realm. Its practices of debauchery rarely avoid unfortunate pregnancies. If everyone were to bear offspring, even the largest sect would starve. So where have those unborn children gone? The answer is obvious—they never saw the light of day. Joyful Sect employs Ming’an Divine Sect’s secret technique to slt the spirits of unborn infants. This sin is colossal! One day, this array of infant terror will give rise to a Ghost King."
"Thus, Joyful Sect lured here, trapped , and fed those infants’ terror to ."
Known for her Taoist clarity, Lu Ying was utterly stunned, unable to fathom the heinous and ruthless ways of the Joyful Sect.
With cold laughter, Tengshe moved its head and sneered:
"Though I’ve grumbled over my captivity for centuries, I must admit—the terror they fed is delectable. Pure as it cos, the fear of infants brings a bittersweet taste. After bitter cultivation for another decade, I will surely tear the array apart."
As it spoke, cruel determination flickered in its crimson gaze,
"But if that woman approaches this place, bound by the array, I’ll perish without a doubt.
I’ll allow you and your companion to leave if you swear a Heart Demon oath to drive that woman away. Otherwise, before my death, I’ll drag you both down with ."
Cold sweat ford on Lu Ying’s brow as her lips remained sealed, her sword unwavering.
Tengshe laughed darkly, savoring the aroma of fear. It spoke coldly,
"Priestess, do you know the depths of the Yellow Springs? I’ve cultivated for centuries, yet I still don’t know them deeply."
Suddenly, a voice sounded from outside the door.
"Why don’t you go down and find out for yourself?"
A figure of a Douli Swordsman stepped through the wooden door of the top floor, his tone calm and serene.
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