Chapter 258: Lian Qingyi [II]
Xie Qing moved his hand, which felt much better than before. He was in the courtyard, walking on the snow-covered grass. The hem of his white robe had long since become damp, not to mention his hair, which was covered in snowflakes.
“This place is always in the snow,” Lian Qingyi’s voice sounded from behind.
“Is it?”
The young man turned his head, his eyes narrowing at the woman. Lian Qingyi was dressed in a light, loose red dress that did not accentuate her figure at all. However, her beauty was not diminished in the slightest. On the contrary, she was so beautiful that it took one’s breath away.
Nine-tailed fox. Apart from their not-so-positive past, they had a reputation as seducers who could easily corrupt the mind of even the purest monk.
That’s why they were feared and adored at the same time. After all, who could hate such beauty? Regardless of gender—be it a woman or a man—seeing such beauty, one involuntarily forms an understanding of something beautiful and sublime.
Xie Qing’s eyebrows relaxed as he recited an inner mantra. Although he was reluctant to admit it, even he, who was used to feminine beauty, was captivated by Lian Qingyi’s beauty for a moment.
“My personal space, where there is eternal cold and snow. It snows every day, without stopping for a second,” Lian Qingyi continued. Barefoot, she stepped on the snow and, inexplicably, left no traces on it. “Did you know? Yin energy generates cold. Negative Karma has the same nature, but more malicious. That’s why a place where such a large amount of bad karma is concentrated will be cold and lifeless.”
“You mean…” Xie Qing trailed off mid-sentence. Indeed, as soon as he focused, he felt the air become heavy. However, a second later, this feeling disappeared as if it had never been there. The young man looked at Lian Qingyi and asked, “Are you controlling whether I feel the Negative Karma or not? Quite skillful, if that’s the case.”
“What a pleasant compliment. You’re right. I wanted to show you,” Lian Qingyi smiled faintly—it was not an irritated or forced smile, but a very beautiful and alluring one.
“Well…”
Xie Qing sighed. Perhaps he had lost his mind from long solitude, otherwise, it was hard to explain why he so often lost his concentration.
Without asking any more questions, Xie Qing started walking around. Lian Qingyi followed him. Neither of them spoke.
Surprisingly, halfway through, Xie Qing’s footsteps on the snow also became invisible. This was because he started walking with the steps of a swordsman, not his usual ones.
“Not bad,” Lian Qingyi was impressed.
Although she had guessed that this guy was a swordsman, she didn’t know he was of such a high level. If this guy’s cultivation level were higher, he would undoubtedly be a formidable swordsman.
Xie Qing looked around. This place was quite desolate, and he couldn’t sense anyone’s aura. Either no one really lived here except Lian Qingyi, or this woman had simply restricted his Spiritual Consciousness, which was also quite possible.
Suddenly, his eyes fell on a place. It was a half-ruined wooden house. The roof had collapsed inward, and the windows were destroyed.
“This?” Xie Qing pointed his chin towards the ruined place and asked curiously, “Some special place?”
“Hmm?” Lian Qingyi was distracted from her thoughts and looked at the place Xie Qing was pointing to. She fell silent, then added, “This is my home, where I was born. Of course, it’s just an imitation. The real one was destroyed long ago.”
“Seriously?”
The young man didn’t know much about how foxes were born. Indeed, few in this world knew about it. After all, Nine-tailed Foxes had an extremely mysterious origin.
Lian Qingyi, seeing his doubts, said nothing. In any case, she was not ready to talk about everything, even if the other party was her ‘master’.
Xie Qing did not insist further. He looked at the ruined house. A quiet ripple appeared in his eyes, which disappeared in the same second. Sitting on the snow-covered ground, the young man tilted his head, looking up at the sky.
Snowflakes danced, falling slowly to the ground. Some were alone, others in pairs. Several snowflakes fell on Xie Qing’s nose. His eyes took on a vacant look.
Lian Qingyi silently looked at him, seeing that the young man had been sitting in the same position for a long time, not moving even a little finger.
“Enlightenment. Not bad.”
The woman shifted her gaze to the sky. No matter how long she looked, she could not understand what had brought the young man to enlightenment. I suppose this will remain a mystery.
“There are three thousand Daos, and each is mysterious. It is unlikely that one person’s Dao can be understood by others. I suppose this is the path of the cultivator…” Lian Qingyi thought, rubbing her cheek where a snowflake had landed. She turned her gaze to the motionless young man: “And it seems he has also begun to seek his own Dao. Quite quickly, considering it is done at the stage of Transcendence…”
Indeed. Even Lian Qingyi had not been able to find her own Dao, and this was a big problem. Even Hao Shen had only a vague idea of his own Dao, let alone the others.
Perhaps many of them would have to stop at this stage, and some might be lucky enough to advance to the next level of cultivation.
“Immortality. It is quite unusual that there has been no news from these guys for so long…” Lian Qingyi pondered and turned her gaze to her house. A rare coldness appeared in her eyes: “I suppose everything has its time.”
***
A day passed. Xie Qing was still sitting in the same position. A considerable amount of snow had accumulated on his shoulders, not to mention his head. Lian Qingyi passed by, examining him.
A week passed. Xie Qing still did not move.
Three weeks passed. Still no change.
And then…
Nine months passed.
Surprisingly, Xie Qing was clean, with not a single snowflake around him. Lian Qingyi sat on a branch of a snow-covered tree, her long, slender legs dangling down. She was eating a candied apple, swinging her legs.
Her appearance had become much younger, around the age of an eighteen-year-old girl. She silently watched Xie Qing.
Nine months. That’s how long this guy had been in a state of enlightenment. It was understandable; usually, this process took no less than a year. Sometimes, someone would be in this state for no less than a century.
The more genius a person is, the longer they will be in this state. Lian Qingyi turned her gaze to the side—she was looking at the invisible walls.
“Two days have passed in the outside world,” she thought, making a conclusion with the help of Heavenly Secrets.
Her special space was special because of its ability to slow down time inside. This was not created by her, but thanks to a special artifact.
And she was very curious. How long would this guy remain in this state?
Jumping off the tree, Lian Qingyi spun around and stood on both feet, looking at the snowfall.
And so…
A year passed.
Two years passed.
Three years passed.
And finally… five years passed.
Xie Qing had already turned twenty-seven years old. And on his birthday… he opened his eyes.
And his cultivation level…
Was one step away from Divine Transformation.
“How much time has passed?” was the first thing the young man thought about.
He examined his wounds. They had long since healed. This meant that at least several months had passed. Xie Qing’s eyes became glassy as he pondered.
Compared to when he entered the state of Enlightenment, his appearance was more detached and calm.
“Ninth stage of Spiritual Ascension. I suppose this is me. Although, I didn’t think it would be this close,” he thought and stood up.
The snow on his shoulders instantly melted, and his white robe, which had become damp from the snow, also dried. He looked around.
“I remember. The space of that fox,” he thought and cracked his neck, turning his head back. He met the gaze of the girl sitting on a branch.
Her white hair and red eyes fit quite well with the snowy weather.
“Well, hello,” said Xie Qing, and his eyelids closed slightly: “How much time has passed?”
Lian Qingyi blinked and jumped off the branch, landing right in front of the young man. She looked him in the eyes and replied.
“Five years.”
“Five years? That’s serious,” the young man responded and sighed, rubbing his forehead: “Twenty-seven years, huh? I’m getting old before my eyes.”
“…I don’t even know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” Xie Qing replied and regained his detached look, gazing at the girl: “So. Let’s return to our conversation about your conditions.”
“Hmm?”
Lian Qingyi didn’t immediately understand what he was talking about. But then the pieces fell into place in her mind.
“You mean Hao Shen’s body?”
“That’s right,” Xie Qing replied and turned his gaze back to the same ruined house. A ripple appeared in his eyes: “As you know, for us, his corpse is the main proof of victory. Moreover, devilish cultivators, especially those at the stage of Transcendence, can be reborn even from a drop of blood. Therefore, we cannot simply entrust his corpse to you, understand?”
“I understand.”
The woman nodded. In any case, she didn’t expect her request to be approved so easily.
“However—”
“But I’m not against it,” Xie Qing replied, turning to her and looking her in the eyes: “Only if you have a method to finish him off once and for all. Otherwise, I must refuse.”
