Chapter 1510 - 814: Absorbing Yang Energy (Two-in-One)

Yin Weiyin looked at the glowing orb in Chen Yi's hand, itching to take it, but knowing it was impossible, she could only watch. There would be opportunities later, so she chose not to provoke him now.

However, she noticed Chen Yi's face had started to turn pale, with beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

"You... what's wrong..."

A wave of weakness surged over him like a tide; the inexhaustible True Qi and Primordial Qi seemed to be completely drained. With the Heavenly Eye, Chen Yi immediately understood the cause: Yin Weiyin had manifested the Immortal Palace, manipulated time, and reversed the river of time... these divine skills consumed a massive amount of energy, and now it was all reflecting back on him.

No wonder Great Yin was so miraculous; it was as if they treated him like a fountain.

"The consumption is too great..."

Chen Yi's face became increasingly white. He had never tried this before; now he understood through Yin Weiyin how immense the consumption of unconditionally emanating Bright Hall's radiance truly was. His breaths, long steady, became erratic, leaving him exhausted and mentally drained.

Realizing something was amiss, Chen Yi sent the orb of light back to his Heart Lake and then slowly sat down on the rooftop, saying: "Recite the spell to send us out. I... I'm a bit... too tired."

Returning the light to Heart Lake only slightly eased his fatigue, but did not eliminate it. The weariness continuously impacted his nerves, making him feel halfway between a dream and wakefulness, his only choice was to hold onto a thread of alertness towards his surroundings.

Yin Weiyin dared not delay, quickly matched her hands with his, and began to softly recite the awakening spell. Under its mysterious rhythm, the increasingly fatigued Chen Yi felt his consciousness rise and drift away.

Just like one often doesn't know how to enter a dream, or how to awaken, consciousness gradually clears up only after the dream ends.

With his eyelids partially open, Chen Yi's eyes slowly closed following Yin Weiyin's final incantation, glimpsing as the surrounding scenery began to change.

Yin Weiyin also closed her eyes; the dream was now trembling. The scene quickly blurred, but after the quake, the blurry vision suddenly cleared. Yin Weiyin had just started to question the reason when she felt a warmth at the back of her neck, as if something had dripped onto it...

Thump.

The female crown stiffly turned around and saw on the rooftop ridge dragon tile, the Year Beast's gaping maw wide open. Without realizing, it had perched on the high ground, peering down at them.

Another drop of saliva fell down; the Year Beast's eyes glanced downward, noticing Yin Weiyin watching it. Their eyes met.

The Year Beast closed its mouth slightly, then reopened it, letting out a low growl.

An innate chill surged up her spine.

Yin Weiyin felt her hair standing on end, raised a hand wanting to awaken Chen Yi, but the Year Beast, remarkably perceptive, immediately released a breath; initially insignificant, by the time it reached the female crown it turned into Gang Wind, promptly casting her hundreds of feet away.

Amidst the shock, the female crown drew on Wind Control Technique to oppose the Gang Wind, barely stabilizing her defeated-shape body in the air currents. Looking up, the bulky creature had silently leapt onto the rooftop, crouching before the motionless Chen Yi, its shadow nearly engulfing him completely.

"You... what are you doing?!"

Yin Weiyin's heart pounded fiercely. Disregarding her uneven breath, horsetail whisk in hand, she transformed into a rainbow light ready to rush back and rescue Chen Yi, but just as she moved, the Year Beast huffed out another breath without even turning its head.

This breath came much fiercer than before.

Gang Wind roared in instantly, stirring up muddied waves in the Dream Sea, seizing Yin Weiyin along with the protective golden glow around her body, tossing her like a leaf in wild waves. The constant screeching of the wind filled her ears, even disturbing her True Qi within.

Not good!

Chen Yi!

Earlier sensing this Year Beast was extraordinary, yet her cultivation ultimately lacked, now struggling to maintain her stance amidst the ruthless Gang Wind was all she could barely sustain. Clenching her teeth, she pushed her Primordial Qi to its peak, forcibly breaking through layers of wind pressure.

The chaotic swirling of lights left only the rooftop with a person and beast, intermittently clear and distorted in the violently shifting view.

She finally broke through a sliver of the wind gap, fixed her gaze on Chen Yi, wanting to awaken him, only to witness an unbelievable scene.

She watched in horror as the beast slowly lowered its head, reaching towards Chen Yi's thigh, its nostrils fluttered as it found something, then bit open his pants.

"You, what are you doing?!"

Yin Weiyin's shock and anger mixed, yet another stronger gust pushed her into a stagger, nearly disrupting her Wind Control Technique.

Dazed and dazzled, she saw the Year Beast bring its nose closer, inhaling deeply, its lantern-sized crimson eyes narrowed, showing an oddly human-like expression of pleasure.

It was absorbing yang energy?!

Yin Weiyin gaped in disbelief.

And as the yang energy filled in, the Year Beast emitted a faint orb of light wrapping its whole body. As the halo flowed, not only was it delightfully absorbing yang energy, it began transforming into a human form.

That was...

Donggong Ruoshu?!

A familiar face one couldn't even dare imagine appeared, Yin Weiyin's eyes widened, the Gang Wind grew fiercer, preventing her from approaching. She wanted to speak, but the Gang Wind drowned her voice, and a sense of helplessness gradually welled up in her heart.

She saw that stupid girl still not satisfied, even, even... bit into it.

The savoring sound from the rooftop could no longer be heard.

Leaving her alone in the fierce and violent Gang Wind, dumbfounded, mind in chaos.

.................

.................

Luoyang, in a small town too insignificant to be marked on the map.

Here, preparations for the Dragon King's Day were underway. Despite the town's small size, it was enveloped in a festive atmosphere. Faded colored ribbons hung at every household's door, the air filled with the scent of cheap incense and fried pastries, not particularly exquisite or festive, yet children ran and laughed in the dusty streets with crude paper dragons.

In the distance, at the horizon's edge, the majestic outline of the Luoyang Divine Capital appeared faintly amidst the light spring clouds, reappearing on the skyline. Compared to here, it was more boisterous and grand, and even though it was still early, and the night hadn't fully descended, strings of fireworks already soared into the sky, bursting into clusters of short-lived splendor.

Lu Ying, wearing a Lotus Crown, gazed from afar beyond the railing.

Zhou Yitang, who brought them here, stood inside a tea pavilion, speaking quietly with a middle-aged teacher dressed in a washed-out long robe. The two conversed slowly, their expressions calm, seemingly discussing scholarly matters. Occasionally, the teacher would gesture in the air, while Zhou Yitang nodded slightly. Lu Ying couldn't clearly hear their specific content, nor did she care much.

She only knew that after meeting Sect Leader Master Baiyu on the way, Zhou Yitang suddenly changed her mind, deciding not to return to Yin Sword Mountain. Instead, their journey would ultimately lead to the Western Capital Chang'an in Western Jin, and Luoyang was a necessary stop along the way. Beyond Tongguan lay Western Jin.

The fireworks of the Divine Capital and the clamor of the small town were no different in her eyes; all were just worldly smoke and fire.

She murmured softly, "The flying clouds of the dragon on the spring road, the encamped tiger of the autumn realm. Establishing the two towers of Xiangwei, extolling the old code of the Six Rituals."

The teacher who had been speaking with Zhou Yitang seemed to have good hearing and turned his head, a genial smile on his face, "Miss, what refined interest, could it be Ban Mengjian's 'Two Capitals Ode'?"

Lu Ying didn't turn around and continued to look into the distance, shaking her head lightly, "'Two Capitals Ode' by Zhang Pingzi."

The teacher's smile paused, looking slightly awkward, "Ah yes, Zhang Pingzi's 'Two Capitals Ode', it's been too long, I mixed them up, please don't take offense, Miss."

Lu Ying didn't respond, still gazing distant.

During the Eastern Han, people already distinguished Luoyang and Chang'an as the Two Capitals, saying Chang'an was mighty, Luoyang virtuous.

Worldly affairs change, seas transform into mulberry fields.

Now, divided by only one Tongguan, yet belonging to two separate countries.

She couldn't help remembering a line from the 'Analects': 'The rulers among the Yi and Di are not as good as the vanished ones among the central states.'

Yet, this distinction between the civilized and the barbarian by these scholars had long drifted away for someone like her who had forgotten both the world and oneself.

The rise and fall of dynasties, the division and union of territories, are but mere ripples in the great world of birth, existence, variance, and extinguishment.

Outside the Great Dao, all is illusion.

Zhou Yitang glanced this way and said to the slightly awkward teacher, "My apprentice has such a temperament, slow in speech, I hope you'll excuse her."

The teacher did not point out a single line of 'Perhaps, it's not temperament', but instead said, "The esteemed disciple of Daoist Tongxuan surely has her own character, it is I who was abrupt."

The ensuing dialogue, Lu Ying could no longer hear.

Only vaguely, fragmented words drifted over with the wind, it was Zhou Yitang asking: "...thus it seems, with the shift of calamity, this time's manifestation..."

The teacher replied affirmatively: "...The stars have gradually shifted, the constellations also dispersed, added to the frequent anomalies of the various states in Jin...indeed so."

"Since it's so, the calamity of heaven and earth is now converging in Western Jin."

"Your insight is clear."

Lu Ying gazed at her nose, her nose at her heart, indifferent to these discussions, never intentionally listening.

And the more intentional, the less one actually hears.

Outside the tea pavilion, the clamor of Dragon King's Day celebration exploded with drums and gongs, mixed with children's laughter. From the direction of the Divine Capital in the distance, another fireworks cluster rose, burst, and its light reflected briefly in her clear, indifferent eyes, disappearing in an instant.