Hmm, not all the black shadow monsters went to climb the mountain. Feng Miaojun noticed that out of every hundred black shadows, at least one would walk toward the edge of the cliff after climbing out of the abyss. These generally had clearer forms, with appearances closer to humans.
In other words, only the strongest monsters chose this path.
Feng Miaojun glanced around inconspicuously, then quickly followed.
Notably, most of the monsters invading Yun Ya’s sea of consciousness remained silent, not even whispering to each other, yet their actions were orderly and without error as if someone was secretly issuing commands to them.
Rounding a patch of woodland, a residential building suddenly appeared ahead.
Feng Miaojun halted, momentarily distracted.
What did she see? Those bricks, those tiles, and that large tree by the house—wasn’t this the small courtyard from inside the inch-sized bottle? How much must Yun Ya love his house to manifest it the same in his sea of consciousness, without the slightest difference?
Her brief pause displeased the black shadow behind her. “Move quickly, there’s no time!”
The concept of “time” was most ambiguous in the sea of consciousness world. A thousand years might pass in reality while only an instant passed here; similarly, a thousand years might pass here while only the time needed to drink a cup of tea passed in reality. Why was this monster so anxious about time?
Recalling the earlier words in the labyrinth, “his body is recovering,” could it be that the flesh essence she had fed Yun Ya was beginning to affect this realm? After all, the connection between soul and body was too intimate and mysterious—changes in the physical body could very likely influence the sea of consciousness world.
This was indeed good news for her.
She immediately quickened her pace, rushing toward the small courtyard.
The closer she got, the more surprised she became. No third person in the world could understand this courtyard better than she did, but now it stood isolated on the edge of a cliff, without the familiar small mountain behind it, nor the gently flowing stream beside it.
Yet the large tree in the courtyard remained lush with branches and leaves, and the small white flowers climbing on the fence bloomed shyly. It seemed that with this fence as a boundary, spring flourished inside the courtyard, while outside was a world of ice and snow.
The wind and snow couldn’t penetrate the fence, nor could the monsters outside. In fact, faint black mist floated outside the courtyard wall—these were powerful monsters that hadn’t taken form.
The fence had large gaps between its slats, seemingly only able to block air, yet it strictly guarded this domain.
Passing a tall pine tree, Feng Miaojun moved toward it and climbed to the crown in a few steps, wanting to survey the whole scene. However, her gaze was drawn to a figure in the courtyard, and she couldn’t look away for a long time.
It was a young child, appearing to be at most five or six years old, with a white face tinged with red. Feng Miaojun had never seen such a beautiful child, with delicate and adorable features.
Even if peach blossoms had spirits, they could not surpass this.
Although he hadn’t fully grown yet, one could envision his enormous potential to captivate countless hearts in the future. Especially those eyes, clear with distinct black and white, with slightly upturned corners—though not yet fully formed, one could easily see they would develop into phoenix eyes.
Feng Miaojun stared at him, speechless for a long time.
Just one look and she was certain this child was related to Yun Ya; they were almost cut from the same mold. If there was any difference, it might be that this child’s eyes were vacant, his gaze dull, vastly different from Yun Ya’s lively eyes that resembled a pool of spring water.
He stood just behind the courtyard wall, separated from the outside by only a small wooden door.
Yet despite the black smoke outside stirring restlessly, it couldn’t cross this seemingly fragile boundary.
The courtyard was a haven.
Feng Miaojun also noticed a woman standing outside the courtyard gate. From her vantage point looking down, she could just see a profile.
To say nothing of her beautiful features, even the curve of the woman’s jaw and neck was so graceful that she could stun the world at first glance. Her black hair flowed like a waterfall, simply tied with a ribbon at the back of her shoulders.
A true beauty required flawless features, form, and details—she was a stunning beauty who could rival Yu Haizhen. But with a woman’s keen eye, what Feng Miaojun first noticed was that her hairstyle wasn’t common in the present day.
Her gaze was also very gentle. Her red lips opened and closed, seemingly talking to the child in the small courtyard. However, when her palm touched the wooden door several times, a golden light flashed on the door, repelling her fingertips.
A cold gleam flashed in Feng Miaojun’s eyes. Although this woman was beautiful, standing together with countless black shadows, how could she be anything good? This was Yun Ya’s sea of consciousness, and that small courtyard was probably the place he was determined to protect. The courtyard’s rejection of her push meant that Yun Ya had not yet let down his final guard against her.
The monsters here seemed endless. Alone, how could she drive them back?
Just then, she heard faint whispers among the black shadows: “Hurry, day is breaking.”
This voice was so close it was as if spoken right by her ear. The woman in the scene also heard it. Her moth-like eyebrows raised, but her expression became even gentler. She spoke softly to the child, and crystal tears flowed from her almond eyes.
The child was originally motionless like a wooden chicken, and it was unclear if he had heard her words. But when he saw the teardrops sliding down her cheeks, his eyes suddenly flickered, and his face showed a struggling expression.
The surrounding black shadows surged, and the woman revealed an even more pleading look.
Feng Miaojun became extremely anxious.
However, the change in the child’s expression lasted only for a moment before he returned to his wooden state, unmoved no matter how skillfully the woman performed.
Fortunately, fortunately this fellow had a heart of stone. Feng Miaojun understood Yun Ya’s temperament thoroughly, knowing that he always kept his heart closed. Even though she had known him for many years, Yun Ya still kept his own little secrets. Who knew what these monsters had done to him, causing his soul body to regress to a five or six-year-old appearance, his consciousness clouded. But a person’s essence wouldn’t easily change.
This stubborn trait had now become an advantage. Even if he was currently confused, deep in his heart, he maintained a trace of doubt and hadn’t wavered.
Perhaps it wasn’t an illusion, but the sky seemed somewhat brighter than before.
The black smoke churned, and Feng Miaojun heard them whispering, urgently pressing: “Take a gamble, quickly!”
Then, a wisp of black shadow that had climbed up from the cliff edge began to transform. Its facial features and build became increasingly clear. By the time it walked to the outside of the small courtyard gate, it had turned into a tall, handsome man of about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. This person had a face like beautiful jade, with fine eyebrows and thin lips, features even more beautiful than the woman’s. When Feng Miaojun saw him, she instinctively clenched her teeth to avoid crying out in surprise.
His appearance was six or seven parts similar to Yun Ya’s! Especially the shape of those eyes—she had traced them countless times and could never mistake them.
Unfortunately, his eyes no longer contained a trace of charm, but were filled with endless killing intent and rage, his face distorted, his gold-embroidered black robe stained with fresh blood.
He held a long sword in his hand, walking over step by step as if his body weighed a thousand pounds.