Chapter 533: The Unearthly Girl
Yun Che stopped mid-motion: "What did you find?"
"In this small lake, there seems to be a very peculiar aura." Mo Li said slowly. "It's somewhat similar to an aura I know... rather similar to the aura of the Golden Crow!"
Golden Crow?
"You've been exposed to the power aura of the Golden Crow?" Yun Che asked subconsciously.
"That's not important. For a lake to emit an aura similar to the Golden Crow, though extremely faint, is still quite unusual. Go down and confirm it."
The attribute of Golden Crow power is fire, while a lake naturally contains water. It indeed sounded unusual. After confirming that no one else was around, Yun Che descended as instructed and landed on the lakeshore.
This was a very small lake, not much larger than a pond. One could see its edge at a glance. But the lake water was exceptionally clear. Even under the hazy moonlight, the line of sight could vaguely penetrate to the bottom.
Twenty zhang from the lakeshore was a patch of tangled grass and thickets. The vegetation there was not verdant but withered. However, within twenty zhang directly bordering the lake — an area that should have been most suitable for plant growth — there was not a single blade of grass, only smooth, bare ground.
The night breeze swept across the lake surface, carrying what should have been a cool, refreshing air, but Yun Che clearly felt a strange, scorching heat. His heart stirred. He crouched down and reached his hand into the lake water... The water was not cool at all.
Yaohuang City was located in the northern part of the Huan Yao Realm, where the climate was naturally cool. Moreover, it was nighttime. The lake water should have been cool or even cold. There was no reason for it to be this warm.
"Indeed, there is an aura similar to Golden Crow Flame Force within the lake water. But I can't be certain it is Golden Crow Flame Force." Mo Li said flatly.
Yun Che pondered for a moment, then stood up and said uncertainly, "Could it be because this place is close to that Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley?"
"No!" Mo Li retorted. "Look around you. Only the small area near this lake is devoid of vegetation, as if completely burned away. Places further away are lush with plants. If it were due to the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley, this entire region should be affected. If my guess is correct, someone released Golden Crow Flame Force into the lake. Moreover, judging by the aura, it shouldn't have been long ago — probably about two or three days."
"Releasing flame force into lake water? Why?" Yun Che asked, puzzled.
"Perhaps it wasn't intentional release. Rather, someone with Golden Crow Flame Force in their body stayed in the lake for a considerable time, leaving traces behind. More likely, it's someone who has difficulty fully controlling the Golden Crow Flame Force within them and used the lake water to calm it down. The latter possibility is greater. Because the Golden Crow's flame is extremely violent. If one doesn't cultivate the 'Golden Crow World-Incinerating Record,' relying solely on profound force to control Golden Crow Flame Force like ordinary profound fire is basically impossible! The purer the Golden Crow bloodline, the more true this is!"
"I see..." Yun Che nodded slowly. People of the Illusion Demon Royal Clan all possessed more or less Golden Crow blood, with the Demon Emperor lineage being the purest. Could it be that some member of the Illusion Demon Royal Clan had bathed in this lake?
Still, this didn't seem worth delving into. If he wanted to witness Golden Crow Flame Force, he could enter the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley. That was a place he had to go!
But this place was quiet, undisturbed — a good spot for sword practice.
"It's still early. Since I've run this far, I might as well have a good sword practice session!" Yun Che stretched his arms. "Hong'er, no sleeping. Prepare to—"
"Wait!!" Mo Li suddenly spoke up. "Immediately suppress your aura and hide. Someone is coming... and it's an extremely formidable person!"
For Mo Li to describe someone as "extremely formidable," it was definitely no small matter. At the very least, it was someone he had absolutely no chance of dealing with. If it happened to be an enemy or an evil person, in this place far from Yaohuang City, he wouldn't even have anyone to call for help. Yun Che quickly used Flowing Light Thunder Concealment to suppress his aura, then silently crawled into the thicket behind him.
The thicket wasn't very tall, but it was dense, enough to conceal Yun Che's body. Not long after he hid himself, a blurry figure appeared in the sky directly ahead, and then, like a flickering streak of light in the night sky, it closed in to within thirty zhang of him...
So fast! Yun Che exclaimed inwardly. At the same time, he quickly lowered his head to prevent the other party from sensing his gaze... For those with keen spiritual perception to a certain degree, the sensation of being stared at could be detected even without using one's eyes. Yun Che himself possessed this ability. The other party's astonishing speed demonstrated their immense strength... This person's strength might not even be inferior to his father, Yun Qinghong.
Just as Yun Che even concealed his gaze, he suddenly noticed the other party's speed slow down significantly, and then they stopped in mid-air not far ahead of him.
Yun Che's mind tensed... Could they have discovered me? Damn it! Of all the crucial moments, this Flowing Light Thunder Concealment decides to fail—
But before he could finish his thought, the figure slowly descended. At that moment, Yun Che finally saw clearly who it was.
It was a girl.
Her figure was small, appearing to be at most a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl. Her face was delicate and exquisite, small yet perfectly proportioned. Her features were quite exquisite, but her skin seemed unnaturally pale, carrying a melancholy and unwell pallor. Her face held no expression, but there was a faintly discernible gloom between her brows, as if frozen by a thousand years of ice and snow.
Yun Che was startled, but after a careful look, his heart suddenly felt somewhat oppressed. He was not far from her, only about twenty zhang away, yet apart from her appearance, he could sense almost none of her other auras. It was as if she was nothing more than a phantom of the night... Even with his profound strength and spiritual perception, he could barely feel her breath and presence. If not for the fact that Mo Li had alerted him in advance and he was watching her intently, he might not have even detected her arrival... This could only mean that this young girl possessed an extraordinarily terrifying strength.
At this time, Mo Li's solemn voice sounded in his mind again: "Yun Che, be careful. This girl is very dangerous."
"Very dangerous?" Yun Che responded. "To be able to elicit such a warning from you, she must be an incredibly powerful figure. Is she a person from the Illusion Demon Royal Clan?" Yun Che thought to himself, then said, "But since she's from the Illusion Demon Royal Clan, it shouldn't be a big problem. I am now a guest of the Illusion Demon Realm, and tonight, I just happened to come here to train with my sword. It's not like I'm doing anything bad."
"Who told you she's from the Illusion Demon Royal Clan?" Mo Li said coldly.
Yun Che: "..."
"Look carefully at her eyes and the aura lingering around her." Mo Li said slowly. "I can tell you that there is a shocking amount of resentment, anger, and killing intent accumulated in her body. This is not something that can be cultivated or pretended. It can only be obtained by personally killing countless people! But she is clearly just a little girl, so how could she have killed so many people? It's truly strange."
Yun Che focused his gaze and carefully observed the girl's eyes. Under the moonlight, her eyes were beautiful but carried a faint mist that made it impossible to see clearly. However, after concentrating, he indeed saw what Mo Li was talking about. In those eyes, hidden deep beneath the dark pupils, there was a chilling coldness and fierce killing intent... Absolutely not the eyes an innocent girl should have. It was as though she had crawled out of a sea of blood and a mountain of corpses.
Something was wrong with this girl.
Yun Che's heart tightened. Then, he also felt an incomparably heavy, dark, and cold pressure slowly spreading from the girl. It was not directed at him, and he was protected by the Evil God Barrier, but this pressure still enveloped him, robbing him of the strength to even breathe. He hurriedly shrank back, not daring to make the slightest sound.
"The fact that she hasn't noticed you yet is entirely due to the Flowing Light Thunder Concealment. If you hadn't cultivated your profound force to the earth profound stage and attained an innate Flowing Light Thunder Concealment, and had been hiding just twenty zhang away, you would have been discovered the moment she arrived." Mo Li said. "But even so, you'd better stay quiet. Her perception is far beyond what you can imagine. If she gets even a little closer, or if your aura leaks even a trace, she will immediately discover you. If that happens, don't say I didn't warn you."
Yun Che: "..."
Who is she? Why is she appearing here all alone late at night?
Could she be from the Illusion Demon Royal Clan? But why is she so eerie?
At this moment, Mo Li's voice again carried a trace of surprise: "Hmm? Strangely enough, this girl's strength is no less than your father's, and yet he let her out alone without the slightest worry? Could it be that she is a direct member of the Demon Emperor clan? Or is she from some hidden power within this Illusion Demon Realm?"
"Shh... don't talk." Yun Che nervously said. With her ability, she naturally wouldn't be intimidated by the aura of this little girl: "She should be from the Illusion Demon Royal Clan?"
"How do you know?"
"Because, her body carries the aura of the Golden Crow bloodline." Mo Li warned. "You'd better hide well and pray you're not discovered. With her heavy killing intent, if she finds you, she will kill you without hesitation!"
Yun Che: "..." She came here alone in the middle of the night. What is she doing? Waiting for someone?
Just as Yun Che finished speaking to Mo Li, the girl, who had been still for a long time, suddenly moved. Her body slowly descended.
Her hair was very long, reaching below her waist and hips, as black as the night sky. It gently brushed her jade-like face in the night breeze. When her toes touched the center of the lake, she stopped there and gently closed her eyes.
The moment her eyes closed, the heavy, dark, and cold aura around her vanished completely. The oppressive feeling weighing on Yun Che's mind and body also disappeared instantly. The young girl in his sight stood quietly at the center of the lake, her expression serene, her black hair gently dancing. The scene was so dreamlike and beautiful that one couldn't bear to break it... Yun Che stared blankly for a long time, even questioning whether his earlier sensations had been an illusion.
Slowly, the girl spread her arms. Her loose sleeves fell, revealing a pair of crystal-clear, tenderly white hands, like jade porcelain. Then, her body continued to descend until her calves were also submerged in the lake water... At that moment, a cluster of scorching flames suddenly ignited around her body.
The flames were faint, but they spread quickly, soon enveloping her entire body. Within the flames, her black hair flew high... However, her flying hair did not capture Yun Che's attention at all, because as the flames burned on the surface of her body, her gray clothes were rapidly reduced to ashes... When the flames died out, a body as white as snow, delicate and fragile enough to stir pity, was completely exposed to the night breeze... and also to Yun Che's sight.