Chapter 638 536: No, Ah Han, Don't Show Me This

In the Cold Palace Sword Mansion.

A woman with a frail, lonely figure slowly pushed open the dust-covered gates of the mansion.

The faint glow of the moonlight behind her only served to accentuate her cold and solitary silhouette.

She drifted like a lotus to Pei Yuhang's former study. As her gaze swept over the dusty books and paintings, a hazy mist welled up in her eyes.

"Ah Han..."

Ye Liyuan whispered his name, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, filled with endless longing and sorrow.

A day had passed since the great battle at the Endless Sea. Half of the allied Cultivator forces had been sucked into the Abyssal Sea Palace, vanishing without a trace.

The world-swallowing tsunami had also swept the Ancient Bronze Gate leading to the Abyssal Sea Palace into the bottomless Sea Abyss.

Even the Sect Leaders of the major Sacred Lands were unable to retrieve it from the vast, boundless ocean.

And even if they did manage to retrieve it, without Ji Xichan—the "key"—it would be impossible to open the gate from the outside ever again.

Moreover, in a Secret Realm like this, one that exists independently of heaven and earth, the flow of time was likely different from the outside world.

As the Taoist Lord had said, it was possible for those who entered to emerge in a matter of days, or... they might not return for a thousand years.

"I... I finally found you after so long, Ah Han."

"Why did you have to leave me again? Even if it meant stepping into the Abyss with you, as long as we could be together... why couldn't we?"

Ye Liyuan's throat tightened as she swallowed the bitterness in her heart.

She took out the Meditation Divine Jade that Pei Yuhang had left for her, recalling the words he had spoken to her during the final moments of chaos.

[Liyuan, I've done many wrong things, many things to let you down... There's so much I didn't dare to tell you. I've left it all inside this Jade Pendant.]

[I'm not a good man. Forget me...]

"Liar..."

Ye Liyuan wiped the tears from her beautiful eyes and silently immersed her consciousness into the jade.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a small mountain village.

'This is... the Illusion Realm Ah Han left for me. What is he trying to tell me?'

Ye Liyuan walked through the village in a daze. Suddenly, she heard a cheerful, excited voice from behind her.

"Brother Pei, Brother Pei, come with me to the village entrance!

Daddy said an Immortal Master is passing through our village! If they take a liking to us, we can go up the mountain to become cultivators!"

Ye Liyuan stared blankly as she turned around. She saw a pretty and charming young girl who, despite her youthful appearance, was faintly recognizable as Lin Qianyan.

And the handsome young man next to her, with his red lips and white teeth...

"Ah Han!"

Tears burst from Ye Liyuan's eyes as she threw herself forward, heedless of everything else.

But her arms passed straight through the boy's body, grasping at empty air.

She could only stumble and fall to her knees, staring blankly at their retreating backs.

She was just an observer now. The people and things before her were all events that had already happened; she could not influence or interfere with them at all.

Ye Liyuan took a deep breath, suppressed the turbulent thoughts in her mind, and followed the young Pei Yuhang.

Along the way, she watched Xiao Lin Qianyan playfully interact with the young Pei Yuhang, and saw the adoration that occasionally flickered in Xiao Lin Qianyan's eyes.

A sharp pang of pain flashed through Ye Liyuan's eyes.

'Didn't she say... she was just Brother Pei's little sister? Turns out she's a little Fox Spirit too!'

Ye Liyuan spitefully tried to wedge herself between the young Pei Yuhang and Xiao Lin Qianyan, as if to forcibly separate them.

But alas, she was like a ghost. They passed right through her, and in the end, Ye Liyuan could only follow behind them with a dark expression.

As for Xiao Lin Qianyan's small movements, like occasionally reaching out to take Xiao Ah Han's hand, she could only turn a blind eye, telling herself that out of sight was out of mind.

Upon reaching the village entrance, Ye Liyuan saw the Immortal Master that Xiao Lin Qianyan had mentioned.

They were two Daoist Nuns, dressed in simple white robes. They had a refined and elegant air, carrying themselves with the aloofness of otherworldly experts.

However, the occasional flirtatious charm that flickered in their eyes allowed Ye Liyuan to see at a glance that they were both Yin Yang Dao Cultivators who were just pretending to be pure.

Under Ye Liyuan's watchful eye, the two Daoist Nuns pretended to have just inadvertently noticed the newly arrived young Pei Yuhang.

Their eyes, which had been aloof as if they didn't partake of worldly trifles, suddenly lit up like a ravenous wolf spotting a delicious little lamb. Their gazes were practically sparkling with little pink hearts!

This made Ye Liyuan's heart sink.

'Oh no, these two damned bitches really are after Ah Han!'

As expected, what happened next was that the two Daoist Nuns pretentiously offered to test the aptitude and innate constitution of all the village's youths.

But for everyone else, they just gave a cursory glance before dismissing them. Only when they got to the young Pei Yuhang did they both put on expressions of utter astonishment, as if they had just discovered a heavenly being.

In front of the young Pei Yuhang, they showed off a few Minor Magic tricks, summoning wind and rain, which made all the residents of the small mountain village kneel and cry out, "Immortal!"

"Young man, are you willing to come with us?"

The Daoist Nun's voice was as gentle as water, but a burning heat was hidden in the depths of her eyes.

"We are Cultivators from the Sacred Land of Heaven and Earth Yin Yang Sympathy. As long as you are willing to come with us to the mountains to cultivate, and you train diligently, it will be no problem for you to become a Foundation Establishment Immortal like us.

By then, you will have a lifespan of several hundred years, eternal youth, and the freedom to roam the world. What could be better?"

The young Pei Yuhang looked at the invitation from the two Daoist Nuns before him, then subconsciously glanced at Xiao Lin Qianyan beside him.

"I..."

"Ah Han, don't agree! They're bad people with ill intentions toward you!"

Seeing this, Ye Liyuan was so anxious that she trembled all over.

Even though she knew the young Pei Yuhang before her couldn't hear her voice, she still called out a nervous warning.