Qiongju Island was one of the largest islands in the Eastern Sea, with terrain rising from west to east. Although Luowu Mountain was a single peak, it occupied half of the eastern side of Qiongju Island. Viewed from the west, the lower slopes of Luowu Mountain were lush and verdant, interspersed with cherry pink and peach red hues, while the summit was covered in snow, soaring into the clouds. At the foot of Luowu Mountain lay a vast, dense forest.
From above, this thick forest was shrouded in heavy mist, obscuring the terrain below. The mist wasn’t purely water vapor, but a mixture of various deadly poisonous miasmas – some fatal, some hallucinogenic, and all extremely dangerous. This dense forest was known as Qifeng Forest, a place where ordinary cultivators dared not tread, and even Demon Kings kept their distance. However, the forest was home to many strange beasts and even divine creatures. It was said that some had seen phoenixes soaring through the forest, though the truth of this was uncertain.
Xie Xuechen was traveling by wind, but as he approached Qifeng Forest, he felt an unusually attractive force interfering with his direction and Yuan Power. His Fashen intuition was keen, and he immediately descended into the forest.
“This miasma interferes with Yuan Power fluctuations, somewhat similar to demonic energy,” Xie Xuechen said with a grave expression. “Flight is impossible here.”
Mu Xuanling looked around, seeing that the flora in this dense forest grew exceptionally robust, with more vibrant colors. A sweet, cloying fragrance permeated the air, though its source was unknown. Looking up at the sky, they could only see thick mist, with even the sun barely visible. Everything seemed veiled by a thin gauze, dulling the five senses, and visibility was limited to less than a hundred paces.
Feeling the latent danger lurking all around, Mu Xuanling couldn’t help but hold her breath and said helplessly, “Sect Leader Xie, why did you have to bring me along to find the Longevity Lotus? This is no place for cultivators below the Fashen realm.”
Xie Xuechen replied gently, “Don’t worry, I’m here.”
“That’s precisely why I’m more worried,” Mu Xuanling rolled her eyes.
Xie Xuechen: “Heh.”
Xie Xuechen chuckled softly and took Mu Xuanling’s hand, saying, “Let’s go. We must leave this forest before nightfall.”
Mu Xuanling seemed to give up resisting and allowed him to lead her by the hand as they advanced toward Luowu Mountain.
From deep within the mist came eerie sounds – sometimes like the whimpers of fierce beasts, sometimes like chewing noises, and at other times, heavy breathing. Unable to see, the sounds alone conjured even more vivid imaginary scenes.
Mu Xuanling’s expression gradually grew serious. Just then, Xie Xuechen suddenly stopped in his tracks. Mu Xuanling reacted a moment too late, unable to halt her forward momentum. Xie Xuechen grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his embrace. Mu Xuanling involuntarily collided with Xie Xuechen’s chest. Just as she was about to speak, she heard footsteps approaching from ahead.
Although Xie Xuechen’s senses were dulled by the miasma, upon hearing these footsteps, his expression darkened, and his grip on Mu Xuanling’s shoulder unconsciously tightened.
“Xie Xuechen…” A graceful figure became increasingly clear in the mist, and the voice that came made Mu Xuanling’s entire body stiffen.
It was her voice!
Identical, completely identical to her voice, but the tone was different. That voice called Xie Xuechen’s name with affection, yet revealing a hint of grievance and sadness.
Mu Xuanling stiffly watched as the figure gradually became clearer. She emerged from the mist, identical to Mu Xuanling in appearance and dress.
This wasn’t the first time Xie Xuechen had seen something take on Mu Xuanling’s form, such as lust demons, but he never relied solely on his eyes to observe people. Instead, he used his mind’s eye, able to distinguish each person’s heartbeat and breathing and see the aura surrounding them. Thus, no illusion could deceive him.
But this person before him… not just in appearance, but in footsteps, breathing, heartbeat, and even aura, was identical to Mu Xuanling!
“Xie Xuechen, come quickly, the one beside you is fake!” That person called anxiously while walking towards Xie Xuechen.
Mu Xuanling clenched her fists, a wave of panic rising in her heart: “What exactly are you?”
“That’s what I should be asking you!” The approaching Mu Xuanling glared coldly at her counterpart in Xie Xuechen’s arms. “As soon as I entered the forest, I was pulled away by some strange force. Was that your doing? You’re a forest spirit, taking my form to deceive Xie Xuechen!”
Mu Xuanling laughed coldly: “What a fine way to turn the tables.” As she spoke, her right hand opened, grasping Duannian. “You may imitate me well, but a fight will reveal who’s real and who’s fake!”
The person opposite wore the same cold smile, extending her right hand, an identical Duannian appearing in her palm. “Indeed, a fight will reveal the truth, you monster!”
Mu Xuanling stared in shock at the Duannian in that person’s hand – how could this be possible?
Duannian was personally forged by Sangqi; there couldn’t possibly be a second one in this world!
Before she could figure out what was happening, the Duannian opposite was already slashing towards her face. Mu Xuanling was gently pushed behind Xie Xuechen, who raised his hand to intercept the fierce whip.
The person opposite looked both angry and aggrieved: “Xie Xuechen, have you been bewitched by her too? I’m the real Mu Xuanling!”
Xie Xuechen gazed deeply at the person before him. Indeed, she was identical to Mu Xuanling, including her eyes. It reminded him of that day in the forest outside Xiao City, when he had attacked her to save someone, yet she had shown mercy, still full of grievance and anger.
— You’re just taking advantage of the fact that I like you!
It seemed that from that moment, he had truly begun to acknowledge her genuine feelings – though he didn’t know when they had started, they were sincere.
“Xie Xuechen, you’re bullying me…” Those beautiful peach blossom eyes before he misted over, making him momentarily lose focus, unable to help to feel distressed.
However, a whip from behind interrupted his thoughts.
Another Duannian mercilessly struck his back, tearing his clothes and revealing his firm, broad back muscles. It left a faint whip mark on his jade-like, luminous skin.
Xie Xuechen turned his head to look at Mu Xuanling, whose eyes were cold. Seeing that Duannian couldn’t break through Xie Xuechen’s defenses, she frowned and immediately abandoned the attempt, fleeing deeper into the mist.
Xie Xuechen curled his lips in a bitter smile, then suddenly moved his left hand. A thin red cord flew out from his sleeve, wrapping around Mu Xuanling’s wrist. Mu Xuanling had run less than a hundred paces when she felt her wrist tighten, a force pulling on it preventing her from advancing another step. She paused, looking down at her right hand, then at Xie Xuechen’s left hand. She saw that both their wrists were encircled by identical red rings, connected by a red line. After a few breaths, the connecting red line disappeared, but the rings on their wrists remained.
“I told you she was fake!” The person before them said angrily, slowly approaching Xie Xuechen and softening her voice, “Xie Xuechen, are you alright?”
That genuine concern was just like the previous Mu Xuanling, but the real Mu Xuanling should now be treating him coldly and heartlessly, discarding him like an old shoe. Gentle and caring – that was merely his fantasy.
Fantasies are ultimately false.
Xie Xuechen’s expression darkened. Suddenly, Yuan Power surged around him, the vermilion mark between his brows glowing. The “Mu Xuanling” before him let out a miserable scream and instantly turned into white smoke.
With a thud, a green fruit fell to the ground, splitting open to reveal red flesh that emitted a sweet, cloying fragrance, making one’s mouth water uncontrollably.
“It’s a forest spirit, the fruit of the Soul-Capturing Flower. The aura it emits has a strong hallucinogenic effect, capable of deceiving even Fashen’s divine sense. What we just saw were merely our fantasies,” Xie Xuechen said gravely.
Needing to deceive others’ divine senses to achieve its goal meant that this type of spirit wasn’t very powerful on its own. Once discovered, it would meet its end. But if not discovered, the victim would die within their fantasy.
Xie Xuechen turned his head to look at Mu Xuanling, who stood far from him, glaring at her wrist with a gloomy expression.
Xie Xuechen slowly walked up to her. Mu Xuanling raised her hand and said coldly, “What is the meaning of this, Sect Leader Xie?”
Xie Xuechen replied, “This is called the ‘One Thread Connection.’ The two people connected by it cannot be more than a hundred paces apart.”
“I know what a ‘One Thread Connection’ is. I’m asking what you mean by this?” Mu Xuanling said through gritted teeth.
“I’m worried you might accidentally get separated from me,” Xie Xuechen paused, then added, “And also to prevent you from intentionally separating from me.”
Mu Xuanling’s fair face flushed with anger and embarrassment: “Demons can be killed but not insulted. Are you treating me like a dog on a leash?”
“Of course not,” Xie Xuechen immediately denied, saying seriously, “Dogs are leashed around their necks.”
“You…” Mu Xuanling’s face reddened even more, her clear, lively eyes filled with intense killing intent. She was full of frustration. This ‘One Thread Connection’ wasn’t very harmful, but it was extremely insulting. She couldn’t beat him, couldn’t escape, and couldn’t even out-talk Xie Xuechen. If she spoke too harshly, he could even seal her speech acupoint!
Mu Xuanling angrily stomped her foot, turning away from Xie Xuechen. Her eyes were misted over, glistening with unshed tears.
“Let’s go,” Xie Xuechen had no intention of angering her further. Everything he said was sincere, but sincere words often hurt the most.
Mu Xuanling didn’t respond. Xie Xuechen sighed and chuckled softly, then turned and walked away. After a moment, Mu Xuanling felt a tug on her hand. Seeing Xie Xuechen was already a hundred paces away, she was pulled along by the ‘One Thread Connection’ and had no choice but to reluctantly follow.
“Try not to stray too far from me,” Xie Xuechen’s voice came from ahead.
Of course, she wouldn’t listen. If she could stay a hundred paces away, she wouldn’t come an inch closer.
Mu Xuanling’s gaze involuntarily fell on the wound on Xie Xuechen’s shoulder blade. Her whip strike had used all her strength, yet it had only torn his clothes and left a shallow mark on his shoulder blade – a faint red whip mark an inch wide and two fingers long. Against his snow-white skin, it stood out like plum blossoms in snow, particularly eye-catching. Xie Xuechen paid no attention to this wound; a Fashen’s body had extremely strong self-healing abilities, and such a minor injury would heal on its own soon.
The forest mist gradually thickened, reducing visibility from a hundred paces to fifty. Worried about traps, they had to slow their pace. Xie Xuechen also shortened the length of the ‘One Thread Connection’, pulling Mu Xuanling to within fifty paces behind him.
However, the miasma’s corrosive effect on the body was not to be underestimated. Halfway through, Mu Xuanling found herself growing increasingly weak. At first, she thought it was just fatigue, but as her limbs became more and more numb, she realized something was wrong.
Xie Xuechen was constantly aware of the footsteps behind him. Because of the distance, he couldn’t hear her heartbeat and breathing clearly, but her footsteps were distinct. He had thought Mu Xuanling was slowing down because she didn’t want to walk alongside him, but when those footsteps stumbled, he knew something was wrong.
As Mu Xuanling’s body went limp and she was about to fall, Xie Xuechen caught her arm.
“What’s wrong?” Xie Xuechen asked while checking her pulse. Feeling her pulse was weak and her breath stagnant, he frowned, “This miasma causes limb numbness and breath stagnation.”
“The toxins in the miasma are too strong,” Mu Xuanling’s voice was weak. “I’ve been holding my breath for so long, but still can’t prevent them from invading.”
Xie Xuechen touched Mu Xuanling’s forehead, feeling her temperature was slightly high, with cold sweat on her brow. He had anticipated the miasma’s toxicity and had instructed Mu Xuanling to hold her breath early on. With her current cultivation, she should have been able to hold her breath for several hours, circulating Yuan Power and using her body’s pores for respiration instead.
“This miasma enters through the body’s pores. Holding your breath can only slightly reduce intake, but can’t completely block it,” Xie Xuechen said gravely. He took out a rose-colored pill from his spatial ring. “The miasma’s toxicity isn’t strong, so we weren’t alert earlier, but it’s been continuously seeping into the body and accumulating, only now showing its effects. This pill can counteract the miasma. Take it first.”
“You should have given it to me earlier,” Mu Xuanling grumbled, taking the pill from Xie Xuechen’s hand and swallowing it.
Xie Xuechen said, “It has side effects.”
Mu Xuanling: “…”
Xie Xuechen: “No need to spit it out. The side effects aren’t severe, just temporary blindness.”
Mu Xuanling laughed bitterly: “You call that not severe? Being blind in this dangerous dense forest, isn’t that courting death?”
Xie Xuechen patted her shoulder and said, “I’m here.”
Mu Xuanling felt a heat burning in her abdomen, dispersing the numbness and weakness, gradually restoring her strength. But her vision also began to blur. The so-called blindness wasn’t complete darkness, but extreme blurriness, though she could still sense light and dark.
Seeing Mu Xuanling’s furrowed brow and unfocused eyes, Xie Xuechen knew she could no longer see clearly. He picked her up in his arms. Mu Xuanling instinctively struggled a bit, her hand touching the wound on Xie Xuechen’s left shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain.
She immediately froze, not daring to move.
“Your wound seems to have gotten worse,” Mu Xuanling’s keen nose caught the scent of blood, but this blood smell was unlike ordinary blood, without any foul odor, instead carrying a faint fragrance.
“It’s due to the miasma. It will be fine once we leave here, don’t worry about it,” Xie Xuechen said. “As for you, don’t move around. We’ll be able to leave the dense forest sooner that way.”
Mu Xuanling felt uncomfortable all over but dared not act tough or oppose Xie Xuechen now. She could only obediently let him carry her, though her hands were awkwardly unsure where to place themselves. Xie Xuechen looked down at her frustrated expression and hesitant hands, and said softly, “Just hold onto my robe.”
Mu Xuanling hesitated for a moment, then rested her hands on Xie Xuechen’s chest. With her eyes unable to see, her other senses became more acute. Her palms could feel the strong, steady heartbeat, and her nose filled with a faint scent of snow cedar. Xie Xuechen’s arms held her steadily, his steps swift yet smooth, causing no jostling. Only the damp forest wind brushed her cheeks, carrying the strange fragrance of soil and flora, causing an inexplicable dizziness.
Mu Xuanling suddenly asked, “Don’t you need to hold your breath? Aren’t you affected by the miasma?”
“Slightly, but my cultivation is sufficient to resist it,” Xie Xuechen said calmly. “If I held my breath, it would reduce my sensitivity to danger.”
So he had to remain constantly alert to all dangers, as long as he could protect her.
Although Mu Xuanling didn’t like Xie Xuechen, she had to admit that his strength was reassuring. If he weren’t an opponent but an ally, he would be an extremely reliable existence.
But there were no ‘ifs’.
Because Mu Xuanling had slowed their pace earlier, and the dense forest was larger than anticipated, with numerous traps and illusions delaying their progress, they saw the sun setting and the light dimming. Xie Xuechen had to abandon the idea of traveling at night. This place was already gloomy during the day due to the mist and trees blocking the sky, and at night it became pitch black with no stars or moon visible. The dangers lurking in the darkness were even more numerous, and forcing their way through would only be more perilous.
Before nightfall, Xie Xuechen found a dry cave, set Mu Xuanling down, and gathered some firewood to start a fire.
Mu Xuanling vaguely sensed the weak firelight and looked in that direction.
“Sect Leader Xie, has the wound on your shoulder gotten worse?” After nearly half a day, she could smell the blood scent getting stronger.
Although Xie Xuechen couldn’t see the wound on his shoulder blade, he could feel the pain and itching intensifying. The miasma had a greater effect on flesh and blood, accelerating erosion and decay.
“Hey…” Mu Xuanling hesitated, then said, “Do you want me to help apply medicine? We don’t know what other dangers are in this forest. If something happens to you, I’ll end up buried here too.”
This reason was perfectly justified, and Xie Xuechen couldn’t refuse.
And he didn’t intend to be polite either.
Xie Xuechen walked to her side, took her hand, and placed an open porcelain bottle in her palm.
“Then I’ll trouble you,” he said.
Mu Xuanling’s vision darkened slightly, probably because Xie Xuechen was sitting in front of her, blocking some of the firelight. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out her hand, touching Xie Xuechen’s back. She carefully felt upwards, touching the torn edge of his clothes, then his firm, taut back muscles.
Unable to see with her eyes, she had to lean in closer, lowering her head to sniff, trying to locate the wound by smell.
The scent of snow cedar mixed with the smell of blood. She slowly touched Xie Xuechen’s back based on feeling but heard his breath deepen slightly, and quickly stopped her movement.
“My eyes can’t see because of the medicine you gave me. If I apply the medicine too roughly, you can’t blame me,” Mu Xuanling said.
Xie Xuechen seemed to chuckle, saying, “Your whip strike was also heavy-handed. Did I blame you?”
His low voice revealed a faint trace of indulgence.
Mu Xuanling’s face heated up, feeling somewhat embarrassed and at a loss for words.
She had indeed hit him several times, and he truly hadn’t said anything. It seemed she was the one with a petty mind judging a gentleman’s heart.
She scooped out some cool ointment from the porcelain bottle and slowly applied it to the wound. The injury, which had originally been just a shallow mark, now felt like the flesh was curling up due to the miasma’s corrosion. Just applying the medicine felt painful, and she could feel Xie Xuechen’s tense body. She imagined he must be in too much pain to speak.
However, Xie Xuechen’s tension wasn’t due to pain, but because of her proximity.
A sweet fragrance wafted from behind him as if a pair of gentle arms were embracing him from behind. Her soft little hands explored his back, searching for the wound. When she lowered her head, her warm breath fell on his exposed skin, brushing over the painful, stinging wound, bringing a tingling sensation.
His heartbeat involuntarily quickened, struggling to control an inexplicable impulse. He both wanted her to finish applying the medicine quickly and wished the wound was larger so her fingertips could linger on his body longer.
Xie Xuechen inwardly laughed bitterly — he had truly been bewitched.