Purple Cloud Unity Covenant (Part Two)

Su Yao stood up, took the bamboo scroll on the stone table in his hand, and gently wrapped the purple rope around his fingers. He glanced down at the five characters "Purple Cloud Unity Covenant" on the scroll and suddenly said:

How long have you had this volume?

Zilin didn't answer, but turned her face away, gazing at the two osmanthus trees outside the pavilion.

The snow fell on the osmanthus tree, making a soft rustling sound.

After a long while, she said softly, "Whether the osmanthus tree smells good or not doesn't depend on how dense its branches are, but on whether someone smells it."

Su Yao put the bamboo slip into his sleeve, turned to the side, and took a step towards the cave abode.

Zilin stood still and did not stop him.

After taking three steps, Su Yao suddenly stopped. He didn't turn around, but stood with his back to Zilin. His voice came from ahead, not loud, but so clear that every word seemed to fall on snow:

"If you wish, prepare an extra futon in the cave abode."

After saying that, he continued walking forward, his steps unhurried, as if he were waiting for something.

Zilin stood in the pavilion, watching the figure in white robes grow smaller and smaller in the distance. She lowered her eyes and looked at the wine cup left by Su Yao on the stone table, the wine still warm in its remaining liquid. She reached out and picked up the wine cup, holding it in her palm.

A moment later, she started walking and followed in the direction Su Yao had gone.

The footprints, some deep and some shallow, fell on the snow, one after the other, gradually merging into a single line.

Inside the cave abode, Su Yao was already sitting cross-legged on a futon, his eyes slightly closed. Sure enough, there was another futon opposite him, with a tiny brazier on it. The charcoal inside glowed slightly red, making that small space warm and quiet.

Zilin stood at the entrance of the cave abode for a while before stepping inside.

She sat down on the futon, put down the wine cup in her hand, and closed her eyes.

Two auras slowly spread throughout the cave abode. One was like the rising sun, radiant yet restrained; the other was like fragrant purple smoke, deep and warm. The two auras gently touched, probed, and intertwined between the stone walls. At first, they were a little awkward, like two people who hadn't spoken in a long time, unsure of what to say first.

But gradually, the two auras found their rhythm with each other.

Amidst the rosy glow, a wisp of purple quietly seeped in; within the purple smoke, a line of rosy hues silently spread out. The gathering power of the Rainbow Clouds and the embracing energy of the Purple Qi, within this small space of the cave abode, were like two intertwined threads, overlapping, weaving, and merging one by one.

Around Su Yao, rainbow light and Purple Qi intertwined and flowed. On the black feathers that Rosy Cloud Feather Wanderer had transformed into, a very faint purple pattern gradually appeared, like incense smoke condensing between the feathers. Around Zilin, layers of rosy clouds shone through the Purple Qi, like the splendid morning light when the sun shines on an incense burner and purple smoke rises.

The "Purple Cloud Unity Covenant" uses Purple Qi as a guide and Rainbow Clouds as a matchmaker, where purple and rainbow clouds intertwine and unite to form one.

Su Yao felt the "Consume the Sun and Dine on Rosy Clouds in the Clouds" talisman in his dantian tremble slightly, as if it had been gently tapped by some extremely soft force. Immediately afterward, Zilin's Purple Qi spread from where they were sitting opposite each other, like an extremely light hand, slowly covering his dantian. The Purple Qi carried the warmth of the Three Yangs yangs in harmony, as well as a very faint trace of incense smoke. Wherever it passed, the rosy light within Su Yao's body not only did not resist, but instead actively greeted it as if meeting an old friend.

The rosy light and Purple Qi met in his dantian, intertwining and permeating each other. Su Yao's Rainbow Clouds power was already close to immortality, while Zilin's Purple Qi was a combination of blue and red, rooted in the Three Yangs. When the two met, they were like two streams merging into the same lake, blending together seamlessly. Su Yao could clearly feel Zilin's spiritual energy slowly flowing into his dantian, nourishing the foundation he had just solidified after breaking through to the second Divine Ability. At the same time, his own rosy light was also flowing back into Zilin's body along that Purple Qi, calming and nourishing her.

This feeling is gentler than any elixir and faster than any arduous cultivation.

Inside the cave abode, between the two people sitting cross-legged on the futons, a cocoon of light interwoven with purple clouds had appeared at some unknown time. The cocoon was initially only three feet square, but then it expanded inch by inch, enveloping the two of them at the same time. Within the cocoon, Purple Qi and rosy light intertwined and surged, like purple smoke rising from an incense burner, or like the morning glow reflecting on mountains and rivers, magnificent and tranquil.

Unbeknownst to them, Su Yao's hands had gently clasped together with Zilin's. Their palms faced each other, their fingers intertwined, and spiritual energy flowed between them, more direct and surging than before. Su Yao's radiant light and Zilin's Purple Qi converged in their palms, then flowed upstream along their meridians, colliding violently at their Spirit Platform centers, exploding into a dazzling display of light.

Within that radiant light, Su Yao saw Zilin's Rising Yang Mansion, a vast and warm purple ocean, where the power of the Three Yangs rose and fell like stars. Zilin also saw his Rising Yang Mansion, a dazzling rosy glow, both restrained and vibrant, Crimson Dawn Sword Intent hung like a ray of clear light in the sky. Their gazes met in this intertwined spiritual realm, they smiled silently, and then simultaneously closed their eyes, absorbing the surging spiritual energy inch by inch into their own bodies.

The cocoon of light tightened, eventually completely enveloping the two figures, blurring even their outlines. The charcoal fire on the futon silently died out, and the luminous pearls in the cave abode dimmed one by one, leaving only the cocoon of light, interwoven with purple clouds, pulsating slightly in the darkness, like a slowly breathing heart.

Outside the cave abode, snow began to fall again.

The two osmanthus trees in front of the octagonal pavilion swayed gently in the snow. The old poems on the osmanthus leaves were washed away inch by inch by the snow water, and as the new snow fell, another line of even lighter writing faintly emerged. The writing was very small, as if someone had quickly carved it with their fingertips during the brief pause in the snow.

The text read:

"Deep within the purple haze, there lies the path home."

No one saw it.

As the osmanthus tree swayed, a snowflake landed on the stone table in the pavilion, turning into a tiny water droplet that landed precisely between the wine stains left by the two jade cups from the previous night.

The water droplet trembled slightly before quietly merging into the wood grain.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Inside the cave abode, the cocoon of light persisted for an unknown period before slowly cracking open. Su Yao and Zilin opened their eyes simultaneously, their gazes meeting in silence. A faint blush graced Zilin's face, yet it carried an unprecedented serenity, as if some long-standing tension had finally eased. Su Yao looked at her, his gaze softening slightly, but he remained silent.

He looked down at their still clasped hands, then at the lingering purple light that hadn't completely dissipated, and suddenly said, "This ' Purple Cloud Unity Covenant ' truly lives up to its reputation."

Upon hearing this, Zilin gently withdrew her hand, turned her face away, and said with a hint of slight reproach in her voice, "Didn't you just say that you wouldn't ask about tomorrow's affairs?"

Su Yao was taken aback, then shook his head, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Zilin stood up, walked to the entrance of the cave abode, and pushed open the stone door. Outside, heavy snow was falling, blanketing the entire Golden Ao Mountain in white. Standing by the door, gazing at the two osmanthus trees in the direction of the pavilion, she suddenly whispered, "Those two trees need pruning."

Su Yao walked to her side, looked at the two osmanthus trees swaying in the snow, and nodded. "Tomorrow."

Zilin turned her head, glanced at him, and said nothing more.

The two stood side by side in front of the cave abode entrance, watching the snow fall from the sky, like two trees growing side by side. The snow fell on their shoulders and then slid off silently.

There is a word cloud:

The rosy clouds are tinged with purple smoke, and the incense burner sleeps embracing the sun. Where two streams of inspiration converge, a single thought transcends a thousand years.

No need for words, no need for questions, no need for pity. Deep within the purple clouds, the way home lies before you.

What does it matter if Chaoxue, or if it's a past relationship? Just look here, on Golden Ao Mountain, two figures stand before the wind.