Tianye

Beneath the autumn rain curtain, a lone eagle soars and cries out across the sky.

The hole in the side room still let in wind and rain, and a slightly chilly breeze brushed against Tianyan's pale pink, elaborate palace dress and the man she was riding beneath.

The quiet room was filled only with the crisp sound of rain pattering against the window curtains, and the refreshing scent of sandalwood permeating every corner.

Xu Yuan placed his hands around her waist, his fingertips gently feeling the warmth and delicacy of the girl's slender waist through her clothes.

And this time,

Tianyan no longer struggled like a cat in distress; memories flooded her mind, and an alluring blush rose on her exquisitely beautiful face.

The atmosphere was just right.

Seeing her gradually becoming emotional,

As their eyes met, Xu Yuan's gaze was filled with gentle tenderness, and his fingertips began to slowly move over her slender body.

She obediently allowed him to do as he pleased, her misty eyes fixed on him without blinking.

"You really remember?"

After a slight pause, Xu Yuan lay down on the somewhat disheveled bed and remained silent for a moment, his voice very soft:

"It's fragmented, only the parts that are deeply etched in my memory, and now, looking back on those memories feels more like watching a revolving lantern."

After careful consideration, I ultimately decided not to lie to her.

There are many fragments of memories about the Bewitching God Illusion Realm, but they are fragmented and mixed. Whenever I recall them, it's as if I'm separated by an indescribable barrier.

As he listened to his story, the expression in Tianyan's golden eyes dimmed slightly.

Nearly twenty years of companionship made her understand the meaning behind his words.

Smack

She opened her hand.

This time, Xu Yuan didn't show much disappointment, and asked softly:

Are you angry?

Tianyan sniffed, stood up from his waist, silently turned and walked to the edge of the bed, sitting down and remaining quiet for a while.

"No, no, I'm just a little disappointed."

Xu Yuan looked at her slender shoulders and her seemingly frail back, and sighed softly.

Indeed, she certainly had reason to be disappointed.

What she wanted wasn't just the memories they shared, but also the version of herself that once loved her.

At this moment, Xu Yuan felt he should say something.

It's not difficult to win over a girl who loves you. Once you get started, she'll convince herself otherwise.

However, Xu Yuan dismissed the idea.

He knew that he and she had shared hardships, laughter, and life-and-death experiences in the illusion, but little of the affection built up from those experiences remained.

He didn't want to lie to her about this fact now.

A brief silence fell over the room, then Tianyan's clear, girlish voice rang out again amidst the pattering rain:

Is that really all?

She wanted to hear his negative answer, just like he had teased her countless times before.

Tianyan hoped that Xu Yuan was just trying to make her angry, to see her sad, or to tease her with his joking remarks.

With a sigh, Xu Yuan slowly propped himself up from the collapsed bed and chuckled softly:

That's all for now.

Upon hearing this, the girl's eyes lit up slightly. She still kept her back turned, but her voice carried a hint of anticipation:

"Temporary?"

"Yes, it's only temporary, of course." Xu Yuan chuckled softly, "The Secret Method I cultivate did indeed devour and acquire some characteristics of your Yantian Divine Soul, but the amount was too small."

"."

Tianyan subconsciously turned his eyes away, his slender fingers unconsciously clenching the bed sheet, his bright eyes unblinking, the slightest trace of his previous disappointment gone:

"Xu Yuan, what do you mean by that?"

Seeing her slightly nervous expression, a hint of tenderness flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes.

I feel lost because of him, happy because of him, and nervous because of him.

Having a girl who loves you wholeheartedly feels really nice.

As his thoughts began to wander, Xu Yuan's reply came quickly:

"Yantian Divine Soul can indeed remind me of those things, but at this stage, my divine soul is not yet complete."

The primordial soul that Tianyan had nearly killed was indeed enormous to him, but it was still not enough to completely transform the soul.

Tianyan stood up abruptly and appeared before him almost instantly.

Upon seeing this, Xu Yuan immediately understood what the "washboard saintess" was trying to do and quickly stopped her.

"Hey, if you want me dead, just say so."

"."

Tianyan paused, pondered for a moment, and after understanding the meaning of his words, a trace of guilt flashed in his eyes. He pursed his lips:

"Sorry"

She was getting a little anxious.

She assisted Xu Yuan in refining his divine soul. Although she was the one being devoured, due to the difference in their cultivation levels, Xu Yuan's burden was actually greater than hers.

His cultivation level was too weak; the devouring just now had almost cost him half his life. If he were to experience it again in a short time, he would probably lose the other half of his life as well.

Standing up on the soft bed, Xu Yuan showed no blame in his eyes, only saying:

"I won't devour your soul essence anymore; I'll handle the rest myself."

A familiar feeling welled up in his heart again. Tianyan looked up at the man who was a head taller than him and blinked.

"Do it yourself?"

"Using your essence to refine your Will Soul is only a temporary solution; I still need to learn the fundamentals myself."

Xu Yuan sensed the changes in his mind Will Soul, pointed to his forehead, and asked, "Right now, my cultivation is still shallow, so devouring your divine soul essence won't cause you much harm. But as my cultivation gradually increases in the future, will I be able to continue to refine myself by devouring your original divine soul essence?"

Tianyan narrowed her beautiful eyes, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a crisp voice:

"Your Secret Method is nothing more than plunder?"

Xu Yuan nodded and casually said:

"Pretty much. If I don't master the method of condensing my divine soul, as my cultivation level increases and my Will Soul expands, the Yantian Divine Soul that I have devoured and condensed will most likely be gradually diluted."

The Blood Origin Heart-Fall Technique's accompanying Will Soul Secret Method can indeed devour the Will Soul of others in an extremely domineering way and incorporate their characteristics into one's own, but this is a one-time use.

The devoured Yantian Divine Soul of Yantian did indeed grant Xu Yuan its unique characteristics, but this did not mean he could directly cultivate it afterward.

His newly condensed Will Soul is still an ordinary Will Soul. If he does not master the true cultivation method of the Yantian Divine Soul, when he cultivates to the Origin Beginning or even Mortal Shedding realm, the Yantian Divine Soul will probably be diluted to the point of being negligible.

As he spoke, Xu Yuan leaped down and landed on the wooden floor beside the bed, casually taking out a robe from his Sumeru Ring and putting it on.

Tianyan didn't try to avoid suspicion and just watched him get dressed.

Xu Yuan felt slightly uncomfortable, but a few fleeting memories of the illusion passed by, so he let the saintess watch him.

We're an old married couple, why would we care about these things?

After fastening the lining of his robe, Xu Yuan suddenly seemed to remember something, turned to look at the girl still standing on the bed, and asked:

"Tianyan, have you found anything about Tianye?"

"Tianye?"

Tianyan seemed to dislike the name, frowning as he retorted, "Didn't you say you only recalled some vivid memories?"

A scene flashed through Xu Yuan's mind subconsciously.

A lone plume of smoke rises from the Great Desert, the setting sun bleeds like blood.

The swirling sandstorm tousled her black hair. A bewitching golden-eyed girl was pierced through the chest by a long sword, blood staining her lips, yet the smile on her lips remained dazzling and radiant.

[Xu Yuan, I won this time.]

"."

After a brief silence, listening to the rain outside the attic, Xu Yuan chuckled and shook his head, saying quite bluntly:

"How could I not remember that kind of enchantress?"

Tianyan glanced at his expression and subtly pursed his lips:

"All you do is flirt with other women."

Xu Yuan's expression turned strange upon hearing this:

"It's just an enemy, is it really necessary for you to react like this?"

"Indeed, an enemy." Tianyan remained noncommittal, his voice turning somewhat cold. "An enemy you've been entangled with for over a decade."

Xu Yuan studied the girl's jealous expression, pondered for a long time, and then hesitantly asked:

"It has been more than ten years, but I don't think I've ever slept with her, have I?"

Aside from the girl before him, the one who impressed him most in the illusion was Tianye, who was called a saintess but was actually Tianye.

But there was not a trace of ambiguity in those memories. After the All Swords Valley, almost every time he met her, it was bloodshed.

He was stabbed three times by Tianye, and that Tianye was also brutally pierced twice by him, the last time almost killing her outright.

Seeing his expression, Tianyan opened his mouth, but in the end, a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips:

"You're asking me? I haven't been by your side the whole time, how would I know if you've done anything improper with that woman?"

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes and said with a chuckle:

"They've been dead for 20,000 years, there's a limit to how jealous you can be, isn't there?"

"Hmph." Tianyan snorted coldly and turned his face away.

"Alright."

Xu Yuan smiled and steered the conversation back on track, "If it's inconvenient to talk about Tianye, then let's leave it at that."

That demoness who possessed the appearance of "Tianyan" 20,000 years ago, but was not given the name "Tianyan".

During the initial illusion, Xu Yuan was unaware of what would happen next, but now, recalling it again, he noticed many things were amiss.

The people in the Bewitching God Illusion Realm are divided into two categories.

The first category consists of those who died in the Great Calamity of the Enchantress Gods unleashed by Yuchu, and whose Will Soul essence was collected.

The second type consists of people whose memories have been collected and whose original Will Soul has been cross-simulated and constructed.

When they are together, they are not very different, both appearing as if they were True Person, but there is a fundamental difference between them on a deeper level.

After the former is killed, a strange fluctuation of Will Soul flashes by, while the latter does not.

As an "NPC" capable of self-awakening, Tianye must be the former.

The problem is that in the final simulation of the great calamity in Yuchu's story, the current Heavenly Oversight Pavilion Master was not Tianye, but Tianrui, who had been killed by them in the Qionghua Sect from the beginning.

This is strange.

It wasn't that Tianye didn't become the Heavenly Oversight Pavilion Master; after all, in that illusion, the demoness herself was hiding her true abilities to avoid reaching the point of becoming the pavilion head.

Therefore,

In real history, it would have been perfectly normal for Tianye to choose to live for himself.

What's really strange is,

Since Tianye neither became the Pavilion Master nor participated in the celebration held by the Qionghua Sect, why did her Will Soul essence appear in that illusion?

However, Xu Yuan was simply curious about this.

After all, that demoness has been dead for 20,000 years, and there would be no benefit in continuing to investigate further.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Yuan slowly walked to the tea tray in the private room, sat down, and began to pour himself a drink.

In the ensuing silence, Tianyan silently walked to the person opposite him and plopped down on the floor.

Rinse the tea, wipe the lid, return the pot to its original position, and savor the tea.

After going through the familiar routine, Xu Yuan poured a cup for Tianyan as well, pushed it in front of her, and slowly spoke again:

"You have something to say?"

Tianyan stared at the tea swaying slightly in the porcelain cup:

"Last time, my master and I went to the Bewitching God Illusion Realm and searched for some traces of Tianye."

A hint of surprise flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes:

"Was it the time I bumped into my maternal uncle?"

Upon hearing Tianyan, Tianyan immediately glared fiercely at the other party.

She hadn't forgotten how she had almost been beheaded by that bastard's uncle.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan understood perfectly and looked slightly embarrassed.

It seems Tianyan is holding him accountable for this.

You have to pick the softest persimmon to squeeze. Since his maternal uncle, Feng Jiuxuan, Tianyan n't defeat Tianyan, he naturally had to come looking for trouble with him, the one who Soul Condensation.

But there was nothing he could do; he had no memory of that time, and he had no idea that they would meet so coincidentally.

Xu Yuan looked away and coughed lightly:

"I'm sorry, I was like that back then."

"I'm not blaming you."

Tianyan smiled faintly, as if he had already calmed down, and said in a low voice, "It seems that we entered the Qionghua Secret Realm after the great calamity that Tianye."

"Etc."

Xu Yuan frowned slightly and subconsciously interrupted, "Tianye told me in the environment that when the position of Pavilion Master is determined, in order to ensure the orthodoxy and uniqueness of the Heaven Derivation Art, all the other Holy Sons and Holy Daughters will be executed."

The Heavenly Oversight Pavilion Master is even more bloody than that of the current emperor, and the Heavenly Oversight Pavilion must ensure the uniqueness of the Heaven Derivation Art.

To prevent the Holy Son and Holy Daughter who have mastered the Heaven Derivation Art from having any other intentions, execution is the best option.

Tianyan gave a soft snort and shook his head:

"That woman, Tianye, possesses the ' Tianyan ' aura; she has many ways to fake her death and escape this calamity."

Is that so?

Xu Yuan was relieved upon hearing this. After all, Tianyan's ability to use the substitution Secret Method in an instant was already quite bizarre. Given enough time to prepare, faking death shouldn't be too difficult.

Thinking of this, Xu Yuan continued to ask:

Why did she enter the Qionghua Secret Realm?

"I don't know."

Tianyan gently shook her head, paused for a moment, and then continued, "However, the only thing that can be confirmed is that she seems to have brought the Thousand-Thorn Ghost Willow inside."

"."

Xu Yuan's pupils contracted sharply; he hadn't forgotten the Thousand-Thorn Ghost Willow that had tried to possess him in the illusion.

That enormous figure flashed through my mind.

He then realized something was wrong:

"How could such a colossal creature as the Thousand-Thorn Ghost Willow have been brought into the Qionghua Secret Realm?"