“Death and decay?” Xiao Yueyin examined Shao Qinglian up and down but no matter how much she looked, there doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.
“It's subtle.” Ji Xian indifferently said, “It didn’t originate from her but because she has been exposed to it for so long, it has mixed in with her aura.”
Shao Qinglian squinted her eyes at Ji Xian, “You’re correct.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yueyin finally understood, “The First Yin Pavilion Master.”
She continued, “But when I last visited Senior Fang Yu, I didn’t sense anything like that…”
Shao Qinglian shook her head, “Junior Sister Fang Yu’s condition has gotten worse over the years, you wouldn’t have noticed it back then.”
Ji Xian grinned, “It could also be because you were too weak to sense it. Doesn’t seem like a lot has changed either.”
“…”
Xiao Yueyin’s mouth angrily twitched.
He really doesn’t let go of any opportunity to tease me.
She softly snorted, “Hmph! You only have the advantage in age, give me another ten years and I’ll easily catch up to you.”
“What nonsense are you talking about, I’m not that much older than you.” Ji Xian laughed before glancing at the quiet Xia Lihua, “By the way, Lihua is the oldest.”
“…”
Xia Lihua’s mouth angrily twitched.
I was just minding my own business, why’d you bring me into the conversation?
Hearing Ji Xian brought up her age, she glared at him.
“Uh, but only by a few years.” Ji Xian quickly added.
“Shut up already, you idiot!”
…
Shao Qinglian quietly watched their bickering. She had just overheard something shocking! She was aware of how old Xiao Yueyin was, so to hear that both Ji Xian and Xia Lihua were within her age group was ridiculous! She had initially guessed they were experts from a previous generation!
Junior Sister Xinyi mentioned the two of them are probably in the Extreme realm… how can they be so young? What kind of ridiculous talent is this?
Her eyes moved to Xiao Yueyin.
The Dragon Saintess. Has Yueyin always been so talkative? She seems like a completely different person…
Finally, Shao Qinglian shifted her attention to Ji Xian.
This person is quite odd… the way he speaks is unusual and not exactly common. In fact, it can be considered borderline rude. Not to mention the way he seems to treat everyone so casually. It’s as though there’s no strength hierarchy in his eyes. In the world of cultivation, this is rarely seen…
Although he’s a little weird, he’s also pretty charming. I wonder what he looks like…
Huh? What’s wrong with me?
Shao Qinglian quickly shook her head and awkwardly coughed a few times.
“Are you all right, Sect Master Shao?” Xiao Yueyin asked after seeing her strange behavior.
“I’m-“
“Huh?”
Shao Qinglian's expression suddenly turned serious as she lift her head, “Junior Sister Fang Yu’s condition is about to worsen! It’s happening sooner than I thought.”
“Senior Ji X-“
“Huh?”
“Where’d he go?” She looked around in wonder. Not only has Ji Xian disappeared but even Xia Lihua was nowhere to be seen!
Xiao Yueyin also looked around in confusion before she let out a soft snort, “They must’ve already gone to look at Senior Fang Yu.”
Shao Qinglian was skeptical, she turned into a flash and headed for the top floor of the Core Yin Pavilion.
Xiao Yueyin didn’t immediately follow. She clenched her hand into a fist and muttered, “I need to get stronger fast, otherwise, they’ll just keep leaving me behind.”
She slowly exhaled to calm herself before following behind.
…
Shao Qinglian appeared before two big doors that has an engraving of a snowflake. The door was closed and with a glance, she can see the formation was still intact. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Her eyebrows furrowed. She lifted her hand and it glowed with a blue light as she channeled her True Essence.
She peculiarly waved her hand in front of the door.
The formation shook in resonance with her movement and silently dissipated.
Seeing this, Shao Qinglian pushed open the two doors and immediately a gust of wind filled with a deathly aura struck her in the face.
She ignored it and took a step inside the room before stopping.
There were two other figures inside the room standing before a bed made from ice!
Her eyes slightly widened at the sight of these two people.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
What! How did they get in?
Ji Xian slightly turned around and chuckled, “Oh? What took you so long?”
Next to him, Xia Lihua inwardly shook her head while thinking about how unnecessary his actions are. He had actually removed the formation and then turned it back on. All this just to give Shao Qinglian a fright! How childish.
Shortly after, Xiao Yueyin appeared. She frowned as soon she felt the uncomfortable air in the room, “Has Senior Fang Yu’s condition gotten so bad?”
After teasing Shao Qinglian, Ji Xian turned his attention to the beautiful woman gently sleeping on the bed. His eyes glowed with a subtle clear light as he inspect her.
She looked to be eighteen or nineteen and had long blue hair that was similar to Shao Qinglian but it was no longer as vibrant due to her illness. Her face, along with her heart-shaped lips were pale as snow, even her hand was cold to the touch. She wore a large white gown that was spread out on the bed and her hands softly laid on her stomach.
One might mistake her for a corpse if it weren’t for her soft breathing.
Ji Xian smiled as he looked at this woman, “Sleeping beauty.”
That was his first thought upon seeing her.
As he observed Fang Yu, suddenly, a horrifying depressive aura erupted from her body. It pervades the room and even caused Xiao Yueyin to feel uncomfortable.
Wrinkles started appearing on Fang Yu’s face. Even her hands seemed to have been sucked dry, leaving nothing but veins and bones. In an instant, she went from a beautiful young lady to an old woman.
Fang Yu’s eyebrows pinched together. Her face dripped with sweat and her jaws were clenched.
With that, her appearance started to constantly switch between young and old.
Ji Xian stretched out his hand and stroked her cheeks, “What a strong Will, it’s quite admirable. You must’ve been fighting for a long time.”
His touch seemed to have some kind of effect as Fang Yu’s expression calmed and she stopped becoming old.
A few teardrops suddenly fell from her closed eyes.
Ji Xian smiled before turning to Xia Lihua, “Looks like it affects her differently compared to you.”
“She nodded, “That’s because my physique is stronger, not to mention my recovery speed.”
“That’s true.”
He turned back to Fang Yu and continued to stroke her cheeks.
“Senior Ji Xian, can you heal my Junior Sister?” Shao Qinglian asked with some expectations. From what she heard between Ji Xian and Xia Lihua, it was obvious the two of them seemed to know something. Her heart raced after knowing that Fang Yu might finally recover.
Ji Xian groaned for a second from the way she addressed him.
Ugh, how hard is it to just call me by my name?
“Yes, I can heal her.” He replied indifferently.
Shao Qinglian was thrilled upon hearing this but what Ji Xian said next dampened her excitement.
“But what’s in it for me?”
“Ji Xian!” Xiao Yueyin yelled disapprovingly, “I have relations with Senior Fang Yu, can’t you just do this for me?”
“No.”
“You!”
Just when Xiao Yueyin was about to explode, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She looked over only to see Xia Lihua shaking her head.
“Lihua, this isn’t right!” She sent her a message using spiritual sense.
“Yueyin, you just don’t understand Ji Xian.” Xia Lihua sighed, “In the pursuit of knowledge, he will rarely compromise.”
“Pursuit of knowledge?”
“You need to know, Ji Xian isn’t a bad person but he isn’t necessarily good either. Everything that he had done so far, from solving the Formatic to sealing the Chaos Tunnels, even fighting against the two Graha brothers, he only did it because it caught his interest. It was because there was something to learn from it. If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t even have bothered.”
Xia Lihua slowly explained. She couldn’t help but recall Ji Xian’s face when she brought up the possibility of war between the Mortal Desolate World and the Graha race a while back.
At that time, his face showed nothing but excitement and expectations. He didn’t care about how many people would die nor did he care about who would win or lose. A war between two worlds meant only one thing to him, and that was what he can learn from it.
“This… how can he be like this?” Xiao Yueyin frowned.
“He is someone very selfish, that’s all. Whatever expectations you have for him, you should lower it.”
“…”
“Yueyin.”
“?”
“Being with him can be exhausting.”
“…”