Living Up to You

Chapter 26

According to Ming Sheng, he is seventy-eight-thousand-year-old this year. Ten thousand years ago, he wasn’t the king of hell yet. The him at that time was still a crown prince and very playful. He didn’t like to be confined in the netherworld. So, he found an opportunity and sneaked to the mortal realm.

It was also that time that he met the little Xi he spoke about.

Seventy-eight-thousand-year-old king of hell was equivalent to a seven or eight year old child of the mortal realm. However, the skill of Ming Sheng was not to be underestimated. He easily went into the River of Forgetfulness and came out without a drop of water on him. He handed the Soul-Locking water to Ling Xi.

Ling Xi was in trance and felt that it was a dream. She got it…easily like this?

The Soul-Locking water was actually a small wine pot filled with water with a silver light overflowing on the surface of the water.

Ling Xi looked at the pot of water and was afraid to take it.

“Little Xi, take it,” Ming Sheng laughed.

Ling Xi bowed very respectfully before she took over the Soul-Locking water.

Ming Sheng pursed his mouth and said, “Being so courteous with me truly let down my kindness.”

Ling Xi quickly said, “Ling Xi truly doesn’t know how to thank your highness. Your highness, don’t take offense.”

“Alright. If you want to thank me, then, don’t call me your highness. How about you call me husband?” Ming Sheng got into Ling Xi’s arms.

Ling Xi’s face was red and burning. She was so shocked that she didn’t know what to do. Sir judge who was at a side coughed repeatedly. Ming Sheng glared once at him.

“I still…want to get the memories of a friend. Don’t know…,” Ling Xi quickly changed the subject.

“You can, you can. Whatever you want. Do you know how to get it?” Ming Sheng asked happily.

Ling Xi nodded gratefully.

She remembered Qing Lian’s reminder. Hence, she didn’t smell nor touch that Soul-Locking water. She held the pot of water and carefully walked to the shore of the River of Forgetfulness. She called softly, “Jian Ying.” A short moment later, white apertures emerged from the bottom of the river. Many large and small apertures very similar to those above Donghua Mountain’s jacaranda, but also a bit different. Ling Xi stood still. Those apertures seemed to have life, floated towards her and fell into the Soul-Locking water.

Ling Xi felt that it was very magical. So many memories of a soul could be hidden in the water and could be called out when they were needed.

Could the “little Xi” of thirteen thousand years ago that little king of hell talked about be one lifetime of hers?

Ling Xi was a bit curious. She wondered whether she looked the same in her past life and what she had experienced…She couldn’t stop herself from whispering, “Ling Xi.”

The red spider lilies were very dazzling and beautiful. The water of the River of Forgetfulness flowed calmly. The sound of the clean water was very pleasing to the ears. Ling Xi called her name once again. However, the River of Forgetfulness stayed the same. No aperture rose from the river.

Could it be that she had to call out the name of that lifetime?

Ling Xi was a bit puzzled, but she didn’t want to delay here anymore for fear that something might happen again. After she properly put the Soul-Locking water in the purse of tail feathers, she thanked Ming Sheng and bid him goodbye.

Ming Sheng really sent Ling Xi to the exit of the netherworld personally. All the way, he stared with an unwilling-to-part expression at Ling Xi, making her didn’t know where to put her hands and feet and also didn’t know where to look.

“See you in ten days.” Thinking that he could see Ling Xi again in ten days, he let go of her hand.

Ling Xi nodded, “Ling Xi will certainly keep the promise!”

—

After coming out of the netherworld and seeing the sunlight again, the sun seemed to have been reborn.

Qing Lian and Qing Kui were waiting outside for Ling Xi. The three hadn’t spoken yet when Juisheng already flew to Qing Kui as he cried.

“Woowoo…where did you without any conscience went to die to?! I obviously felt you in the netherworld. You actually didn’t come to save me. Woo woo…”

Juisheng rushed to Qing Kui. Qing Kui rubbed his gourd’s head and comforted, “Wasn’t I in a hurry to go save Ah Chou?”

At that time, Qing Kui chased the bone-eating demon to the netherworld. Upon entering, he sensed Juisheng, but he was eager to catch the demon and feared that a distraction would let the bone-eating demon get away. Unexpectedly, not long after, he heard Ling Xi’s call for help and calling his name. At that time, he turned around and went to hell.

Even now, when he thought about that cry of Ling Xi at that time, Qing Kui still felt uncomfortable…It was just like the feeling when a good wine of his that had been stored for many years had been smashed. It was very uncomfortable.

While Qing Kui and Juisheng were speaking, Qing Lian couldn’t bear it any longer and looked at Ling Xi with questioning eyes.

Ling Xi naturally understood her, nodded and smiled, “Senior sister, I got it.”

Qing Lian breathed heavily and smiled without restraint.

Qing Kui got to know the situation long ago from Qing Lian and the situation had become clear to him. After listening to Ling Xi about Ming Sheng, Qing Kui laughed, “Haha, sure enough the fortune favors fools! Don’t know in which lifetime did you cultivate this kind of blessing to actually got to know the king of hell thirteen thousand years ago and promised yourself to him. Also, after more than ten thousand years, he still remembered!”

Ling Xi pursed her lips and said, “I also want to know which lifetime it was. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the past memories.”

“With that little foolish brain of yours, forget it! You can’t even remember everything of this lifetime!”

Qing Kui tapped Ling Xi’s head with his index finger. Ling Xi slapped his hand away and glared fiercely at him, “Anyway, I will always remember that when you came to pick me up from Xuwang Cliff, you fell with four legs facing the sky. Even Xiangyin sword ignored you!”

- Four legs facing the sky: flat on one’s back.

Qing Kui glared at her, “I…I was drunk at that time. Drunk! Drunk!”

Ling Xi ignored him. She only snickered with her hand covering her mouth. Qing Kui quickly said, “It was truly that I was drunk! It’s the truth!”

Qing Lian looked at the two of them. The smile on her face was warm.

Although, they still had to fetch the Soul-Suppressing pearls at the Eastern Sea, it was equivalent that more than half of the task had been completed after they got the Soul-Locking water. Although, there was the Dragon King at the Eastern Sea, but he never bothered with the matters of the Soul-Suppressing pearls. He even wished that he could throw those Soul-Suppressing pearls out of the Eastern Sea the soonest possible to save his great sea from the evil spirits and vengeful ghosts.

Qing Lian also received news from Qing Nian. All the major sects expressed their willingness at the Four Immortal’s Association to help clean up those undead in the Eastern Sea. Like this, they only need to wait to go get the Soul-Suppressing pearls.

Therefore, the mood of the three of them was relatively relaxed. Originally, they planned to let Ling Xi rest for a night before setting off to the Eastern Sea, but Ling Xi was unwilling.

“It’s fine if I slept on Juisheng for a moment. It’s better that we depart as soon as possible.” Ling Xi was afraid it there was not enough time since she had to return the Soul-Locking water back in only ten days. She didn’t dare to delay the trip because of herself.

Qing Lian was also worried that something might go wrong and nodded.

Qing Kui was drinking as he gave Juisheng a slap, “It’s up to you this time!”

Juisheng shouted, “Could it be that you also want to be on me? No, no! I will only take little Ling Xi!”

“This old man has to sit on you!” Qing Kui chanted a spell. Juisheng turned big unwillingly. Qing Kui pulled Ling Xi and sat on Juisheng’s body as if they were riding a horse, one in the front and one behind. They took off.

Qing Lian shook her head laughingly. She followed behind them on a cloud.

Everything in the mortal realm was in sight. From villages and towns to the smoke rising up from cooking and people running like ants and insects. It was full of vitality.

When Qing Kui saw that Ling Xi wasn’t asleep, he would find something to tease her with from time to time. As a result, her mood was discontented and she didn’t bother much with him.

“Isn’t this Xiao Hei fine? What are you worried about?”

Of course, Qing Kui remembered when he entered hell and saw the fully wounded Nan Zhi. Compared to those wounds, what surprised him more was that the little black turtle of that year was actually able to transform into a human body in just six or seven years.

He didn’t mention this before when Qing Lian was around.

Ling Xi’s eyes flickered. She was indeed worried about Nan Zhi. They all said he was alright, but when she called him, he still didn’t answer her.

“Ah Chou, do you have nothing to tell me about Xiao Hei?” Ling Xi’s concealment made Qing Kui inexplicable displeased.

Ling Xi had intended to tell Qing Kui about Nan Zhi’s situation. The moment he asked, she quickly replied, “Second senior brother, Nan Zhi…Nan Zhi, he…”

“Nan Zhi?”

“It’s the name I gave him.”

Originally, Qing Kui was lying on Juisheng’s body with his hands on his (J) head. He suddenly sat up when he heard that. “How did you give him a name?”

When Ling Xi saw that he had such a big reaction, she felt very uneasy and said, “He was…inadvertently named.”

At that time, it was because she saw these two words on the desk of eldest senior brother that gave her the idea to use this name.

“Forget it. It’s nothing. It’s only a name.” Qing Kui thought for a moment. His mouth was a thin line.

Ling Xi got curious, “What is the matter with this name?”

Qing Kui yawned, “You entered the sect late. The books you read are not many. Naturally, you don’t know. Cangjia Mountain once had a famous high-tiered deity. Not only was that high-tiered deity the youngest high-tiered deity of Cangjia Mountain, he was also the only high-tiered deity that ascended and became god. It was precisely because of him that Cangjia Mountain gained prestige among the immortal sects.”

Ling Xi nodded. In fact, she knew about this. She had once read it in eldest senior brother’s study. Qing Kui continued, “This high-tiered deity was called Nan Zhi.”

Ling Xi’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat. She remembered that she didn’t find the name of that famous high-tiered deity. She didn’t expect that…he was actually called Nan Zhi…

“Nan Zhi cultivated a human form after I went to Xuwang Cliff. I found many books of spells in eldest senior brother’s study and let him learn them. He is smart and his comprehension ability was high. His skills rose very quickly. However, he only cultivated a human body at Donghua Mountain. He went to ask high-tiered deity Donghua for help,” Ling Xi said honestly.

Qing Kui said, “High-tiered deity Donghua really helped him?”

That high-tiered deity was the leader of the immortal world. His cultivation was indeed unfathomable, but that temper…could only be described with the word “strange”.

“Mm…” Ling Xi nodded and continued. “I swore that Nan Zhi hadn’t used any dissident ways to increase his cultivation! He is very kind and obedient and not some demon or devil. I swear!”

After Qing Kui was silent for a while did he say, “Ah Chou, for Xiao Hei’s own good, it’s the best to not let others know for the moment that he had cultivated a human body.”

Even if the black Chinese rose’s spiritual power was high, even if he (NZ) swallowed two hundred years of cultivation from him (QK), even if Ling Xi had given him many immortal elixirs, as an immortal spirit, his growth was too abnormal.

Qing Kui prided himself for not being an old-fashioned person. He believed that many things couldn’t be explained with conventional reasoning. For example, the passed away eldest senior brother who had never done anything harmful to the six realms created a black snow lotus. For example, Ling Xi whose heart was a pure as a blank paper was able to make snow lotuses turn into ashes. He believed that the black Chinese rose was really a miracle of the six realms and got the cultivation of today by his own virtue. However, that he believed didn’t mean that master would believe and didn’t mean that the other people of the immortal realm would believe.

Ling Xi looked away and watched the constant changing scenery under the thin clouds. There were so many scenery in the world. She had promised Nan Zhi to no longer conceal his existence and would no longer let him hide. She would travel with him around the world.

“If you can’t conceal it any longer, at least wait till the matter of eldest senior brother is finished. With eldest senior brother here, the situation would be different,” Qing Kui said.

Ling Xi lowered her eyes and nodded silently.

—

The Eastern Sea was vast and a sparkling blue. The sky was also clear. The endless sea reflected the blue sky and there was almost no way to tell where the sky and where the sea was.

When Ling Xi came out of the netherworld, it happened to be the time of a sunrise. It only took half a day for the three to arrive at the Eastern Sea. It was the time that the sun was at it highest, but the breeze on the sea was gentle and refreshing.

This wasn’t the first time that she had came to the Eastern Sea.

At the end of the Eastern Sea was Cangjia Mountain. That year, she and big brother lived in a small village near the Eastern Sea for more than a year. After getting up to Cangjia Mountain, the year that Nan Zhi broke through the seal of Xuwang Cliff, he flew over the Eastern Sea with her. Now that she remembered it, the picture of the two happy them of that day was still vividly in her memories. Ling Xi called Nan Zhi again in her heart, but there was still no response.

“Are you sure that Qing Nian said that the sects would come to help?” Qing Kui looked at the empty sea and asked Qing Lian unhappily.

Qing Lian was also puzzled, “The information that Qing Nian gave me was indeed like this. Perhaps, the Four Immortals’ Association had just finished. They had to prepare before leaving. Besides, it will take a few days to come here from Donghua.”

Qing Kui looked at the east, “But it’s very easy for master and junior uncles to come.”

Qing Lian was in deep thoughts as she frowned. Qing Kui continued, “We will know after we ask.”

As he talked, he chanted a spell. A green bird appeared in his hand. He said a few words to it and then let it fly away.

Qing Lian said hesitantly, “Maybe they didn’t expect us to come out of the netherworld so soon. Why don’t we go down the Eastern Sea and find the Soul-Suppressing pearls? After master arrives, he will certainly contact us.”

Qing Kui thought for a moment. In the big Eastern Sea, in order to prevent someone from releasing the evil spirits, the exact location of the Soul-Suppressing pearls was known to only a few. All the evil spirits that had been caught had been directly thrown into the Eastern Sea and dealt with by the people of the Eastern Sea. They came to get the Soul-Suppressing pearls. If it doesn’t go smoothly, it may take a few days to find the location alone.

“Why doesn’t Ah Chou wait for us on the surface of the Eastern Sea and we will go down.” Qing Kui was a bit worried and didn’t want Ling Xi to be in danger again.

“Mm, the Eastern Sea is unfathomable. Xi er, you are not proficient in water spells. Just wait on the surface for master and the others to arrive.” Qing Lian also agreed.

- Er: term of endearment

Ling Xi was tired, but her eyes were firm. She shook her head and said, “I had promised master. For eldest senior brother, I will do my utmost best.”

Ling Xi had always felt that at that time when Cang Yu emphasized that she would be the leader of all the disciples that participated in the Four Immortals’ association must be intentional. Since she was the leader, she naturally couldn’t back out in face of a dangerous task.

“It would be quicker for three people to search. When we encountered trouble, I will definitely see protecting myself as the most important,” Ling Xi added. She didn’t want others to take risks in order to make up for her mistake and she would watch on the sidelines.

Qing Kui saw that Ling Xi was determined. He jumped from Juisheng and said, “Then, Juisheng will follow you.”

“I will still lend Xinyin to you.” Qing Lian threw Xinyin hairpin into Ling Xi’s hand without a mistake.

A warmth spread through Ling Xi’s heart. Suddenly, her whole body was full of strength. “Thank you, senior brother Qing Kui and senior sister Qing Lian!”

“No need to thank. Let’s go down the sea!”

Qing Kui happily headed into the Eastern Sea. Qing Lian smiled slightly at Ling Xi and also quickly entered the sea. Ling Xi patted Juisheng’s head and said, “Let’s go!”

The water of the sea was cold. The deeper they went, the colder the water was and the light also got dimmer. However, compared to the water of the River of Forgetfulness, the slight discomfort caused by the sea water of the Eastern Sea was negligible. Ling Xi only needed a small spell to freely move in the Eastern Sea.

The Soul-Suppressing pearls are at the bottom of the sea, but the Eastern Sea was so vast and Ling Xi didn’t know what that pearls looked like and what special characteristics they had. She didn’t have any clues about how to find them. She only remembered that Qing Lian reminded her that since the Soul-Suppressing pearls were used to suppress the evil spirits and vengeful ghosts, it must be located at the place where the dark energy was the most prosperous in the Easter Sea.

“Juisheng, why don’t we go directly to the Dragon King and ask for the Soul-Suppressing pearls?” Ling Xi recalled that Qing Lian had said that the Dragon King was eager for the Soul-Suppressing pearls to not be out of the Eastern Sea, so that he could disperse those evil spirits. Moreover, previously, she got the Soul-Locking water from the king of hell…

Juisheng shook his body and muttered, “The Dragon King looks down on us! The dragon clan is also a branch of the god clan. Since the god clan had disappeared ten thousand years ago, the dragon clan had no longer appeared in the six realms.”

Ling Xi pursed her lips. In order to see the king of hell that day, she caused a ruckus in the netherworld. Now that she wanted to see the Dragon king, she couldn’t let the Eastern Sea turn upside down, right? Moreover, getting the Soul-Locking water from the king of hell was a pleasant surprise… the Dragon King…she couldn’t be sure…

“The place where the dark energy was the most prosperous…” Ling Xi felt that the bottom of the Eastern Sea was full of vitality. There was no place where the dark energy was the most prosperous. “Juisheng, go look over there. The dark place over there.”

“No, no. Just with one look, you would know that it’s a cave.” Juisheng’s eyesight was better than Ling Xi’s. He was very dissatisfied with her decision.

“Look, there is not even one seagrass nearby and the fishes also go around the hole. Perhaps, there is something about it.” Ling Xi was anxious. They had been walking around at the bottom of the sea for half a day and didn’t find anything unusual.

Juisheng floated to there unwillingly. When he arrived at the opening of the cave, he shouted, “So fragrant!”

Ling Xi also smelled the strong aroma of wine. While she was pondering about how one could still make wine under the sea, Juisheng already rushed into the cave excitedly.

A silver light suddenly appeared in the dark bottom of the sea. The group of fishes got a fright and scattered away. The cave originally had a boundary which was broken by Juisheng. After the silver light came out, the boundary disappeared and the aroma of the wine overflowed everywhere.

There was originally altar made of wine jars in the cave protected by that layer of boundary. Juisheng broke the boundary and the seawater poured into the cave. The wine jars floated up one after another and the wine in the jars also overflowed into the sea water.

“Good wine! My good wine!”

Juisheng’s whole attention was on the wine that had been poured away and didn’t discover that the Ling Xi on him was already in the state of preparing to go to battle.

The moment the boundary had disappeared, she and Juisheng were also surrounded.

Merfolk.

They wore waterweed clothing. The upper body looked like that of a human. The lower body was a huge fish tail.

Ling Xi had read about them in [The recordings of spiritual objects], but seeing them now, she was still taken aback.

At this moment, they were glaring with their big blue eyes and were obviously furious.

“Oh no, trouble…,” Only now did Juisheng realize that. He carefully moved with Ling Xi out of the cave, but the moment they moved, the merfolk immediately followed.

Merfolk were highly spiritual, but they couldn’t speak. They didn’t understand spells, but they were brave and good and fighting. They had a strong physique and they were definitely not easy to deal with.

“Why don’t we use a seal to trap them?” Juisheng proposed.

After the battle in the netherworld, Ling Xi was much calmer than before. She shook her head and said, “The merfolk has latent sounds available. Even if this merfolk were trapped, they can inform the other merfolk unless we have the ability to trap the entire Eastern Sea with the seal.”

Juisheng looked around. Sure enough, there was merfolk coming from other places, running non-stop to here.

“I will deal with them. You leave first!”

He would deal with the trouble he caused! Juisheng put down Ling Xi and rotated his gourd’s body forward.

“Hold on.”

Ling Xi hoped that a leader of the merfolk would come negotiate with them. Perhaps, it would be fine if they apologized. Who would’ve thought that her words just fell when countless of merfolk attacked them?

Xinyin made an appearance. She pointed accurately with an arrow drawn from water. Qing Kui’s cultivation of the five doors were excellent. However, Juisheng loved wine and hated water spells. Hence, his water spells were worse than Xinyin’s.

Ling Xi made a seal to defend against the water which made the resistance of the merfolk multiply.

However, the three were in lesser amount and weak and unable to withstand the merfolk’s magnificent army with thousands of men. Seeing that the circle surrounding them was getting smaller and the three of them were almost washed away, Juisheng suddenly turned his body sideways and spewed out fire from his gourd’s mouth. The merfolk was frightened and backed several feet away.

“Haha, it turned out that they are afraid of fire!” Juisheng laughed.

Unfortunately, he was happy too soon. After the merfolk recovered from the fright, their fighting spirit became even stronger.

“Don’t use a too heavy attack. If one loses its life, it would be more difficult to get away!” Ling Xi reminded.

Who knew how many merfolk were in this Eastern Sea? If they offended the whole merfolk clan, it would be a problem to deal with them let alone go find the Soul-Suppressing pearls!

Soon the three were separated by the merfolk. There was too many merfolk. They didn’t give Ling Xi the time to cast a spell. She swept at them with flames, forcing them to retreat quickly to cast another seal and temporarily cut off the attack of the merfolk.

The merfolk was separated by the seal, but they didn’t give up. They kept trying to pierce the seal with the long forks in their hands and at the same time, they used their fish tail to beat the seal.

Ling Xi listened to the loud sound of the beating and felt disturbed. There was too many merfolk. If it continued like this, her seal wouldn’t last long. She could no longer took into consideration whether she would be separated from Juisheng and Xinyin. The most important thing was to hide now!

Thinking like this, Ling Xi quickly retreated in the direction with fewer merfolk. The merfolk didn’t intend to let her go and still attacked the seal.

The longer it went, Ling Xi felt not as strong as she desired. She tightened her heart and wanted to take out Xiangyin to swept over them with the sword. Just at this moment of distraction, a merfolk’s tail broke through the seal and with a “pa” sound a heavy blow reached for Ling Xi’s face.

Ling Xi’s head buzzed. Her eyes were clearly open, but she couldn’t see what was happening. She could only feel the dark mist shrouding the dark sea water. It was as if the water was darkened by thick ink and no light could pass through.

She didn’t have time to analyze what was going on. She tried her best to keep her mind clear, used her last breath to escape quickly with a water-repellent spell.

When the buzzing in her brain was no longer so powerful and the pain in her eyes had disappeared, Ling Xi realized that the sea water really seemed to be stained with ink. Even when she put her hands before her eyes, she couldn’t see them. Also, all of sudden, it was quiet everywhere. No sound could be heard.

“Juisheng…” Ling Xi was afraid of such darkness and quietness. She shouted with a trembling voice. There was no response.

She fumbled as she took a few steps forward. She wasn’t able to touch the water plants or fishes.

“Nan Zhi…” Ling Xi shouted. There was still no response.

She couldn’t help but reach to her hair. Nothing was there.

Ling Xi couldn’t help but feel cold all over her body. She carefully recalled the scene of just now. The unpredictable tail of the merfolk swept over her face securely. Was it at that time…that the black Chinese rose fell out of her hair?

Almost without hesitation, Ling Xi turned back to the same path where she came from according to her feelings. She called “Nan Zhi” repeatedly in her heart. He had been seriously injured in the netherworld and had not been responding to her. What if he had fallen into the Eastern Sea and slept forever?

Thinking of this, Ling Xi became more anxious. However, no matter how she called, she couldn’t hear Nan Zhi’s response. Instead, she indistinctly heard a woman’s singing.

The song was gentle, light and brisk. It was a humming in a low voice and intermittently went into the ear. It made people’s mind clear as if being washed with clean water.

Ling Xi involuntarily fumbled in the direction of the voice. She encountered no obstacles along the way. Until the female voice seemed to be close at hand and when the sound was clear and audible and she could no longer got closer.

Ling Xi touched the thing that blocked her. She touched an iron ring. It seemed…an iron door was blocking her? She tried to push it. The door was very heavy. There was not much movement because they were in the water. She only heard the sound of the water making bubbles. When she pushed, the singing stopped. Ling Xi listened quietly. After a while, the song emerged again.

Ling Xi was sure that there was someone inside. She used slammed on the door and shouted, “Is there anyone here? Is there anyone?”

The singing stopped again.

It was dark all around. When the singing stopped, there was silence again. Ling Xi felt that she had to get rid immediately of the dilemma of seeing and hearing noting. After she vigorously stroke the door, she didn’t expect that with just one strike, the door opened again.

Ling Xi anxiously stabilized her body and was frozen on spot. The whole room was in a glorious splendor.

The tiles of the roof, the bricks of the floor, the eight pillars of dragons and the statues of the twelve gods were all gleaming in gold. She didn’t even see a lamp, but the interior was brightly lit.

This palace was luxurious but there was no extra decoration. Everything was clear at a glance. Ling Xi saw no person or any other creature that might sing.

“Who was…was singing just now?” Ling Xi slowly drifted into the room and asked.

“Keke…keke…”

There was no one in the empty palace, but it was full of laughter. The laughter was without restraint and with some mischievousness and wouldn’t make people feel scared. Ling Xi looked around carefully again. She still didn’t see anything.

“Keke…you can’t see me, can’t see me.”

Ling Xi took a few steps forward. A female voice laughed, “I’m here. Here. Turn around.”

Ling Xi turned her head. There was still no one, but she saw a faint white shadow in the water light.

“I’m here. I’m here!” The white shadow shook before Ling Xi’s eyes. She circled around her (LX) for a few times and giggled. “You finally saw me!”

Ling Xi had never seen such a shadow…”thing” and asked hesitantly, “You are…?”

“I’m Chen Xi!” The white shadow giggled. “What about you? Who are you?”

Ling Xi’s brain seemed to be unable to turn. She muttered, “Chen Xi? I…I’m Ling Xi.”

“Keke…I’m Chen Xi. You are Ling Xi. You are the first person I saw in so many years. Keke…we have so much fate!” Chen Xi circled happily around Ling Xi.

Ling Xi looked at the cloud like little “thing” in amazement and asked, “You have…been here for a long time?”

“Yes, keke…I don’t remember anymore. A few thousand years? Ten thousand years?” Chen Xi finally stopped spinning and floated up and down in front of Ling Xi’s eyes.

Ling Xi was still very surprised. Being suppressed in the Eastern Sea for thousands years or even tens of thousand years…

She asked hesitantly, “Then…why are you here?”

Chen Xi made a circle again and laughed, “I don’t remember anymore! I seemed to remember the first few years. After it has been such a long time, how could I still remember?!”

“You…can’t go out?” In fact, Ling Xi still couldn’t recognize what she was from her female voice. She had never heard of a spiritual being that looked like a white cloud, could speak and sing and had no immortal or devilish aura around them.

“No…I’m suppressed like them!” Chen Xi laughed again, “But I can still move. They can’t even breath, keke…”

Ling Xi’s heart went cold with her words. “They”, are there still many similar “things” like her here?

After thinking about it, Ling Xi suddenly realized!

“You are talking about the Soul-Suppressing pearls suppressing you, right?”

What else was there besides those evil spirits and vengeful ghosts that were suppressed at the bottom of the Eastern Sea? Although this…Chen Xi sounded like an innocent young girl and didn’t seem to have anything to do with evil spirits.

“Keke…don’t remember. They seemed to be called that.”

Ling Xi was overjoyed and asked, “Chen Xi, can you tell me where the Soul-Suppressing pearls is?”

“Keke…you want to take them away?” Chen Xi continued to laugh, “Can’t. They are different from me. They are very bad and vicious. If you take the pearls away, they will get out.”

“How…are you different from them?” Ling Xi probed.

It was not that she hasn’t seen a “ghost” in the netherworld. They were definitely not the smoky appearance like Chen Xi.

“Keke…don’t remember. They all laughed at me for being incomplete, but only I can come out to play. I can also sing and talk with you. Keke…”

After Ling Xi heard that, she thought that the Chen Xi in front of her, compared with the ghosts who had the three immortal parts and seven mortal parts, presumably she was just a ray of the immortal part. Because of being suppressed by the Soul-Suppressing pearls, it didn’t drift away. Otherwise, after so many years, so long that she had forgotten about her past, this ray of immortal part would’ve disappeared like a cloud of smoke.

“Then you…don’t you want to leave this palace?” Ling Xi probed.

Chen Xi circled a few times around Ling Xi again, “Keke…I want, I want, but I have already forgotten what outside looked like.”

“Tell me where the Soul-Suppressing pearls are. After I take them away, you can go out. Also, I guarantee you that those evil spirits wouldn’t cause harm to the mortal realm. What do you think?” Ling Xi asked.

Chen Xi seemed to be hesitant. After being silent for a while, she laughed again, “Haha, I know that you are not a bad person and I like you very much! But it had been a long time since I last spoke to someone keke…Why don’t you talk a bit with me? I will then tell you where the Soul-Suppressing pearls are.”

Ling Xi nodded, “What do you want to talk about?”

This time, Chen Xi laughed loudly, “Haha, you are really very cute. Of course, it is talking about what you want. It’s fine if I just hear you speak!”

Ling Xi smiled. What did she have to talk about?

She told Chen Xi about her big brother. Big brother raised her and wandered with her to everywhere. She told her that she had a senior eldest brother. Eldest senior brother brought her into the sect, suffered punishment in hear stead and taught her spells. She told her that she had Nan Zhi. Nan Zhi went through life and death with her and stayed with her day and night.

When she talked about those, her clear eyes shone brightly and her cheeks were flushed with happiness. She felt that she was indeed very lucky. There were so many people who love her, cherish her and protect her.

“Then, where are they?” Chen Xi asked.

Ling Xi lowered her eyes. The smile on her mouth seemed forced, “The whereabouts of big brother is unknown. Eldest senior brother’s broken soul is in the silver mirror. Nan Zhi…just now when I was looking for the Soul-Suppressing pearls, I lost him.”

“Keke…it’s fine. It’s fine. They will all come back.” Chen Xi’s laughter was like silver bells and very ear-pleasing.

Ling Xi also smiled, “So, Chen Xi, tell me where the Soul-Suppressing pearls are, alright? Only after I have the Soul-Suppressing pearls would I be able to save eldest senior brother. After saving eldest senior brother, perhaps he knows where big brother is.”

“Alright, alright, I will tell you.” Chen Xi turned around the dragon pillar for a few times and them floated to the twelve statues of gods. As she laughed, she said, “Did you see their eyes? Their eyes are the things that suppressed those bad guys. Keke…”

Ling Xi looked closely. The eyes of those god statues were indeed not the same as ordinary god statues. The light in this palace seems to be the reflection of the twelve eyes.

“However, you have to be careful when you take them. Those people are under the god statues. They are very terrible and will bite you!” Chen Xi said.

Ling Xi suddenly came to a realization. No wonder that they couldn’t detect any place with darkness in the entire Eastern Sea. It turned out that these evil spirits were under the god statues. The righteous energy restrained the dark energy. Naturally, one couldn’t feel it then.

Before taking the Soul-Suppressing pearls, she should get in touch with the people outside. She wondered whether they were ready to deal with these evil spirits.

Ling Xi tried to chant a spell and like Qing Kui make a bird appear to pass the message. Her spell-casting had become smoother these days.

“You want to look for someone to help? It’s useless, keke…” Chen Xi suddenly laughed. “Even if it can fly out, it can’t come back in.”

The bird formed quickly. Ling Xu stopped and asked, “Why?”

Chen Xi said, “I don’t remember anymore. Anyway, it won’t be able to come back.”

Ling Xi frowned and didn’t know whether she should believe it or not.

“Well, I will teach you another method, keke…” As Chen Xi laughed, she began to chant a spell of the heart.

What Ling Xi understood was that the evil spirits suppressed at the bottom of the Eastern Sea was suppressed for the sake of the mortal realm. However, no matter what she couldn’t bring herself to be suspicious of Chen Xi. She didn’t think more, sat down, closed her eyes, crossed her legs and tried to use Chen Xi’s spell of the heart.

Spells of the heart were not difficult and when using it, the body was warm. Ling Xi successfully pushed the energy to her eyes and according to Chen Xi, she called for master in her heart.

Suddenly, the scenery of Cangjia Mountain emerged in front of her. After passing several peaks, her eyes quickly fell into a room. The furnishing of the room was simple. The incense burner was burning. Cang Yu was lying on a couch in the room. She had just seen his face clearly when she saw him suddenly sat up and asked, “Who is there?”

Ling Xi was surprised. Firstly, it was because of his sudden movements. Secondly, because of his face that she hadn’t seen in a long time. Although, she felt like it was a long time, but it was only half a month. Cang Yu had become much older. His face had become thin and his lips were colorless.

“Ling Xi?” Cang Yu seemed to be surprised.

Ling Xi quickly said, “Master, it’s me. I already found the Soul-Suppressing pearls. You didn’t go to the Eastern Sea yet?”

Cang Yu coughed twice and said, “Your junior uncles already went. Qing Nian also went with the deities of the great sects. You only need to take out the Soul-Suppressing pearls.”

Ling Xi said, “Yes.”

As she spoke, she intended to break the spell.

“Wait,” Cang Yu suddenly said.

Ling Xi waited for him. Cang Yu coughed twice again and said in a low voice, “Be careful.”

A warmth filled Ling Xi’s heart, “Yes, master.”

“Keke…it was useful, wasn’t it?” Chen Xi laughed at a side.

Ling Xi opened her eyes and said gratefully, “Thank you, Chen Xi. I wonder which sect’s fairy you are.”

The spell she (CX) taught her was something she had never seen before. When senior brother wanted to contact master, he used birds.

“Keke…I don’t remember anymore. Anyway, it can be used to see people and talk to them. Keke…”

Ling Xi shook her head helplessly. She didn’t know who was so cruel. Chen Xi obviously had no evil energy in her and was obviously a good soul, but her soul had been scattered and only a ray of the immortal part was left.

—

The twelve god statues were solemn, mighty and with a terrifying look. Ling Xi swept over them and felt that the twelve pair of eyes were glaring at her. Her back became cold. However, when she thought about Feng Shu’s broken soul inside of the mirror, Ling Xi’s heart sank and flew away to one of the statue’s eyes.

From afar, the Soul-Suppressing pearls looked like the eyes of the god statues. Looking close up, she realized that the eyes were not black but transparent. Soft light radiated from inside to the outside and rotated around the pearl like a firefly. Ling Xi reached out, it was refreshing. When she got closer, it was a burning heat. Her heartbeat was very quick. Her eyes stared at the Soul-Suppressing pearl without blinking. Her whole body was tight and she was in a state of preparation till her five fingers held the Soul-Suppressing pearl firmly.

A bone-piercing pain spread from her palm. It was a burning pain. Ling Xi seemed to be able to smell the burnt flesh of her palm. She could hear the excited howling of the evil spirits under the god statue. She closed her eyes, used strength on both of her hands and pulled out the pair of Soul-Suppressing pearls. A cold breeze came from the top to the bottom. The roaring almost swallowed her. Every evil spirit that howled away, passed her body with fangs and claws. She could almost hear the sound of her flesh being separated from her bone. She almost burst into tears from pain.

The lingering death of the mortal realm was nothing more than this.

- Lingering death: death by a thousand cuts where someone was bound against a wooden frame in public and his flesh was cut out one by one by the executioner(s).

After taking out the pair of Soul-Suppressing pearls, the main hall was already unstable and began to sway left and right. Ling Xi gritted her teeth and put that pair of Soul-Suppressing pearls into her purse of tail feather. She went to another god statue, reached out and pulled the pearls with force. Another group of evil spirits poured out. They mercilessly bit through her seal and grabbed her flesh.

Ling Xi didn’t utter a sound. She only gritted her teeth and repeated the same action.

She believed that she could do it. These evil spirits were only souls. They couldn’t hurt her soul! She is the disciple of Cangjia sect. She hadn’t cultivated an immortal body yet but she had been practicing for six years. She could bear through this!

She had lost count of the god statue she was working on when Chen Xi shouted, “Enough, enough. Ling Xi don’t take anymore! If you take more, you will be killed by those evil spirits!”

This time, Chen Xi didn’t giggle anymore. She kept shouting at Ling Xi, but she was ignored.

“Then, how about you listen to my spell of heart and make a supporting enchantment? Ling Xi, Ling Xi!”

Chen Xi shouted anxiously at a side. How could Ling Xi have the energy to listen? The pain of being burned by the Soul-Suppressing pearls, the pain of being swept away by the cold wind and the pain of being bitten by the evil spirits had already made her unable to think. She just wanted to hurry up, take all these 24 Soul-Suppressing pearls and end it all!

Seeing that there were two god statues left, the dragon pillars in the hall began to collapse. Ling Xi’s clenched teeth began to tremble. Her nose was full of the taste of blood. She still repeated the same action. Both hands grabbed the Soul-Suppressing pearls and pull them out.

Ling Xi’s tears couldn’t help but fall.

That was true, she was a girl who liked to cry.

But, it was really painful like the flesh was being separated from the bones!

Suddenly she thought, when Nan Zhi went down to the bottom of the River of Forgetfulness to help her get the Soul-Locking water, did it hurt like this when his body was corroded by the river? Or was it a hundred times more painful than this?

The last pair of Soul-Suppressing pearls.

Ling Xi seemed to be possessed and didn’t care about what was happening to the hall and also didn’t care about what Chen Xi was shouting. She grabbed that pair of Soul-Suppressing pearls and pulled them out! This time, there was no roaring wind. There were also no evil spirits that poured out. There was no repeated pain like the flesh being separated of the bones. Only the dragon pillar fell straight on her.

Ling Xi still put those Soul-Suppressing pearls into her purse of tail feathers. When she looked up, she saw a piece of gold (of the pillar). In her blank mind were only two words.

Nan Zhi.