Chapter 639 536: No, Ah Han, Don't Show Me This

The Daoist Nun noticed his hesitation. A flash of impatience crossed her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a gentle, tranquil expression.

She sighed softly and said with feigned consideration,

"Young man, there's no need to rush your decision. Cultivation is a momentous matter, so naturally, you must think it through carefully."

"We will return for you in three days. Take this time to consider our offer."

As she finished speaking, the two of them flicked their sleeves. The Spirit Swords at their feet hummed, and in an instant, they soared into the sky.

The villagers cried out in alarm, prostrating themselves on the ground and shouting, "Immortal Masters!"

The young Pei Yuhang looked up at their retreating figures, his eyes shining with longing.

"Ah Han, don't... don't be tempted by her words!"

Ye Liyuan bit her lip hard, tears glistening in her eyes.

She watched the direction the two Daoist Nuns had flown, a powerful sense of unease surging within her.

"The way those two women looked at you... they're definitely not good people!"

"And that so-called Sacred Land of Heaven and Earth Yin Yang Sympathy... I've never even heard of it! It must be a front for some Demonic Sect to lure mortals!"

She reached out futilely, wanting to hug him, but her arm could only fall limply to her side.

'Everything happening before my eyes has already occurred. It cannot be changed.'

「Three days later.」

The two Daoist Nuns returned as promised, their robes fluttering, their bearing otherworldly and ethereal.

The young Pei Yuhang and Xiao Lin Qianyan, who had already promised themselves to each other as an engaged couple, came to greet them.

The girl's eyes were filled with reluctance as she looked at the young Pei Yuhang, her fingers tightly clutching his sleeve.

The Daoist Nun's gaze swept over Xiao Lin Qianyan, a flicker of contempt in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a gentle smile.

"Young man, have you made up your mind? A person's chance at immortality may only come once. If you miss this, you might never get another opportunity."

"I hope you won't live out a short, ordinary mortal life only to regret the decision you make today."

Ye Liyuan stood to the side, tears shimmering in her eyes, her voice almost a plea.

"Don't listen to her, Ah Han! They're lying to you!"

But the young Pei Yuhang couldn't hear her voice.

He took a deep breath, his gaze firm as he looked at the Daoist Nun, and said solemnly,

"I've decided, Immortal Master... Please take me to the Sect!"

The two Daoist Nuns exchanged a look, a hint of a triumphant smile in their eyes.

"Excellent~"

The young Pei Yuhang hesitated for a moment before adding,

"But, I have one request. In the future, can I come back to bring my fiancée up the mountain?"

The Daoist Nun chuckled. Her tone was gentle, but it held a dismissive undertone.

"Of course. As long as you can pass the Sect's assessment, there will be no problem."

She extended her hand, palm up, motioning for him to take it.

"Let's go."

The young Pei Yuhang glanced back at Xiao Lin Qianyan. Tears were already streaming down the girl's face, but she held back her sobs and just nodded forcefully.

"Ah Han—"

Seeing Xiao Ah Han about to be led away by the wicked women, Ye Liyuan could no longer hold back. She ran forward wildly, trying to stop them.

But her body was like a gust of wind, passing through everyone who stood in her way.

"No! You liars, let him go!"

She screamed herself hoarse, her voice shrill and despairing, like the cry of a cuckoo weeping blood.

But in the end, all she could do was watch helplessly as the streak of sword light vanished into the vast expanse of the sky.

Then, her vision blurred, and the scene around her shifted in an instant.

The small mountain village disappeared, replaced by a magnificent, glittering mountain gate.

When she saw the words carved upon it clearly, Ye Liyuan's pupils trembled uncontrollably.

"No, this isn't real! It's fake! It's all fake!!"

"Don't... Pei Yuhang, you can't do this to me! Don't show me this! I don't want to see this..."

"Yin Yang Sacred Land." This was the place where Ye Liyuan's Xiao Ah Han would come to cultivate.

The story Pei Yuhang wanted to tell Ye Liyuan would begin here.

...

...

DRIP... DRIP...

A cold drop of water burst on the tip of his nose, jolting Pei Yuhang awake.

"Liyuan!"

His gaze fell upon a narrow ceiling. Faint blue light flickered from the cracks between the stone bricks.

It seemed he was in some sort of sealed chamber.

"No... that's not right. I already sent Liyuan away. She's safe now."

Pei Yuhang took a deep breath. After a wave of dizziness passed, he was able to clear his thoughts.

'When we entered the gate, I did my best to hold onto Yueqiu and the others... But then the tidal wave hit. Did it scatter all of us...?'

As he came to his senses, he suddenly felt something heavy pressing on his chest, and his arm was buried in something soft.

With a flick of his finger, he lit a flame. Only then did Pei Yuhang realize that Shang Miaoyan was lying unconscious on his chest, her long hair spread out around her.

His arm was held tightly in her embrace.

This peerlessly ravishing beauty now had a pale face, her thin, bloodless lips pressed firmly together.

Her dignified skirt, embroidered with red lotuses, was soaked with seawater and clung tightly to her skin, accentuating her graceful and alluring figure to a breathtaking degree.

However, Pei Yuhang had long since grown tired of looking at this devastatingly beautiful woman, to say nothing of having any other thoughts at a time like this.

'Yueqiu, Qianqian, and the others were all scattered. Finding them is the priority right now.'

'But I can't just leave Shang Miaoyan here...'

From the time Ji Shenyun attacked the Dao Sect to when she came to the Endless Sea on her own to find me, she has risked her life to help me many times.

'A debt of hatred is one thing, and a debt of gratitude is another.'

Pei Yuhang couldn't bring himself to just abandon her.

"You and I... we're truly bound by an ill-fated connection. To think that when we finally entered the Abyssal Sea Palace, the only one I managed to hold onto was you."

Pei Yuhang gazed at Shang Miaoyan's peaceful, sleeping face. After a moment of silence, he circulated his Pure Yang True Qi, beginning to dry the moisture from her skirt and heal her weakened body.

「After a long while.」

Shang Miaoyan's eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.

When she saw Pei Yuhang behind her, surprise flashed in her eyes. But after realizing Lin Qianyan and the others were not around, she pursed her lips and asked softly,

"Xiaohan, did we... get separated from them?"

"Yes."

Pei Yuhang nodded slightly.

"Not only that, our Cultivation is sealed here. We can probably only use the strength of someone between Foundation Establishment Perfection and Early-stage Golden Core."

"Many Cultivators were swept into the Abyssal Sea Palace—from the Demon Dao and the Righteous Dao, Loose Cultivators, the Demon Race, and even some old monsters at the Sect Leader Level..."

"All sorts of people are here. Now that the gap in our Cultivation levels has been erased, it will likely be very dangerous."

Shang Miaoyan nodded lightly. She took out a Token and said softly,

"This is a Qi Mechanism Token. It holds a trace of Lin Qianyan's aura. With its help, I can lead you straight to her."

"I can sense that although Lin Qianyan is a bit far from us right now, her aura is stable. Nothing has happened to her."

Pei Yuhang breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Qianqian was okay.

Then, after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked,

"Shang Miaoyan, you don't blame me?"

"I... blame you for what?"

"For sending my own Dao Companion away, and not you."

"Pfft—"

Shang Miaoyan let out a soft laugh and shot Pei Yuhang a look.

"I'm overjoyed, why would I blame you? If you had really kicked me away, I would have gone crazy."

She thought back to before they entered the Abyssal Sea Palace, to her devastated and aggrieved expression when she thought Pei Yuhang was going to use the Great Shifting Order on her.

Shang Miaoyan's ears couldn't help but turn a little red.

'At least for now... it's just the two of us, relying on each other.'

The thought was a soft whisper in her heart.

Pei Yuhang fell silent for a moment, then was the first to get up.

"While you were unconscious, I found the switch for this secret chamber. Let's set out to find Qianqian."

"Okay."

After some simple fumbling, Pei Yuhang pressed a certain stone brick on the wall, and the wall in front of them immediately rose.

The moment the two of them stepped out, they saw a dark figure lying on the ground.

Shang Miaoyan instinctively moved to attack but was stopped by Pei Yuhang.

"Wait. He's not breathing... Judging by the wound on his neck, it seems he hasn't been dead for long."

At his words, Shang Miaoyan immediately became vigilant.

Pei Yuhang's words meant that while they were just healing in the secret chamber, a murder had taken place just a single wall away.

If they hadn't been teleported into the secret chamber but outside instead, if they had woken up a little later...

The consequences would have been unimaginable!

"This place is even more dangerous than we imagined. The killer might not be far. Let's be careful."

Pei Yuhang and Shang Miaoyan stood back-to-back, cautiously scanning their surroundings. Once they were sure no one was watching, they slowly began to make their way toward Lin Qianyan's location.