Chapter 14: Life If Only As First Seen (8)
The space within the grassland was constantly shifting and changing. Except for the demonic beasts that had always lived there, it was extremely difficult for any intelligent life from outside to grasp the patterns of these changes. As the old saying goes, without direction, there is naturally no way to find an exit. Just as Chen Changsheng was troubled by this, the yellow paper umbrella suddenly pointed toward a certain place. Walking in that direction might not be the best choice, nor could it even be considered the correct one, but having a direction now was far better than wandering aimlessly as before. It was like a difficult problem on an exam—you rack your brains but cannot find the solution, and suddenly a classmate tells you an answer. You can't confirm whether he's deceiving you or comforting you, but besides copying that answer onto the exam paper, what other choice do you have? Moreover, that sword intent truly existed, and what grievance or resentment could the yellow paper umbrella possibly have to lead him into a dead end?
Thus, Chen Changsheng determined the direction of travel. Although his body was still weak and drowsiness coiled around him like a snake, pressing down on him, his mind was much more at ease. He sat down beside Xu Yourong, leaning against the crystals, forcing himself to stay awake, staring at her eyes, waiting for her to wake up.
No one knew how much time had passed when Xu Yourong's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she awoke. Those two traces of transparent, rain-washed clarity after a mountain storm fell once again into Chen Changsheng's eyes, leaving him momentarily stunned and speechless. Just like the moment when Chen Changsheng had woken up in the cliff cave, the two of them were very close, their eyes meeting. But in the young girl's eyes, there was no panic, no shyness, no vigilance, and certainly no fear—only calm.
Her eyes were very clear, unstained by any dust or worldly sophistication, like a newborn infant. Yet this tranquility also carried a sense of having seen through the mortal world and experienced much of life, like an old man watching the rain. These two feelings did not conflict but merged together, forming a mysterious and indescribable charm.
Perhaps because he was too exhausted, or perhaps because these eyes were too captivating, Chen Changsheng did not look away.
The young boy and the young girl lay among the pile of grass, less than a foot apart, quietly gazing at each other.
But they could not go on like this forever. Interestingly, the one who first became a little shy or tense was Chen Changsheng.
He awkwardly averted his gaze, looking at the nearby grass, and said, "You're awake?"
She was obviously already awake, and this was just a pointless question. Like Zhexiu on the other side of the grassland, Chen Changsheng was not very good at conversation, especially when with a woman. But this confirmation carried another meaning.
Xu Yourong softly hummed in acknowledgment.
Chen Changsheng said, "Then it's time to switch shifts."
Xu Yourong raised an eyebrow slightly. "Hmm?"
Chen Changsheng said, "You've been sleeping for so long. It's my turn to get some rest."
In the cliff cave, he had woken from a deep sleep and realized he had been saved by this young girl. Then, after leaving him a single sentence, she had fallen into a long slumber. This had placed immense pressure on him, as if the entire world of the two of them had fallen onto his shoulders. Only now, when he confirmed that she was truly awake, did he finally relax a little.
He returned the complete world of the two of them to her, now fully conscious. Then he could rest for a while. With this thought, a tide of fatigue instantly flooded every pore, muscle, bone, and spiritual realm from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Before Xu Yourong could say anything, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep—or rather, passed out.
Just like Chen Changsheng outside the cliff cave, Xu Yourong was completely unprepared for his sudden slumber. She was stunned for a moment before coming to her senses. Supporting herself on the pile of grass, she sat up with some difficulty and realized that the area around her was piled with precious crystals. Looking around, she also discovered that they had already arrived in that grassland. This made her fall silent again for a long time.
So she had finally entered this grassland. Was there still any possibility of getting out?
Relying on her clear and penetrating Dao heart, she expelled all these chaotic thoughts from her sea of consciousness and began to meditate and observe herself. She found that although her vision was clearer than it had been that morning, the poison that Nanke had planted in her body had not disappeared. It was still constantly eroding her body and sea of consciousness. The biggest problem was that her bloodline was clearly showing signs of depletion.
It wasn't just that her true essence had been excessively consumed—though that was also true—but that her blood was nearly drained.
Blood was the principle of life; without blood, there was no principle of life. In fact, judging by the severity of her injuries that morning, she should have remained unconscious. Once awake, maintaining the body's functions required more blood. Yet she had woken up, which meant the situation had improved somewhat.
She saw the broken snake body on the pile of grass. After a moment's thought, she roughly guessed what had happened. When she looked at Chen Changsheng again, there was a bit more goodwill in her eyes. Both were human cultivators being hunted by demons; supporting each other was only natural. Chen Changsheng had already proven with his actions that he was not someone who would abandon a companion. So of course, she had to repay him in kind. Her right hand gently fell on his pulse.
Chen Changsheng's pulse was somewhat slow—more than three times slower than a normal person's—but the pulse pattern was very stable. Although it was a bit weak and chaotic, it was completely different from someone on the verge of death.
That morning in the reeds, she had taken his pulse and used the Fate Star Disk to perform a divination. Clearly, this person should have been near death. So why was he now alive and well? She thought about it and concluded that it must be related to that pure, extreme yin-cold energy within his body. She looked at Chen Changsheng and thought that the continent was indeed full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. The Snow Mountain Sect, though no longer in its former glory, was still not to be underestimated.
Just as she was looking at him, a loud snoring sound came from the grass. Carrying her on his back while seriously injured and fleeing for so long, while also resisting the Black Dragon's hibernation technique, Chen Changsheng had long since reached the peak of exhaustion. Now that he had relaxed, he was sleeping soundly. Even if thunder roared, it probably wouldn't wake him.
In his deep sleep, Chen Changsheng occasionally smacked his lips, as if eating something delicious in a dream, and sometimes clenched his fists or kicked his legs. He really did look like a baby, making Xu Yourong couldn't help but smile.
But just then, from deep within the grassland—more precisely, from far away—came the sound of a zither.
Xu Yourong's expression did not change, but a hint of vigilance appeared in her eyes.
She would not forget that the old man playing the zither was an elder of the Candle Yin Witch Clan, and the witch clan's specialty was controlling poisons and demonic beasts. The space in the Never-Setting Grassland was distorted. She had only been awake for a moment, but she had already understood the mystery behind it. However, distorted space could not block sound, and the demonic beasts hidden in the grassland certainly had some way to move freely.
Her water-like gaze fell upon the water, and a chill gradually arose. Ripples began to appear on the calm water surface, shallow waves spreading outward as if many tiny insects were walking. But in fact, there was nothing on the water. These ripples originated from a very distant place, or perhaps from deep underground.
A highly condensed spiritual sense, following her gaze, spread into the distance, entering the dense grass and the wet mud beneath.
Perception was always a two-way street. So the lives hidden in the dense grass and deep in the mud clearly sensed her aura.
It was an aura from ancient times, immensely majestic, powerful, and noble.
From the distant grassland came a few uneasy sounds, followed by countless faint scraping noises. Some vibration sources underground were also silently moving away. Xu Yourong's aura spread outward like a crushing force, and many demonic beasts that had been awakened by the zither sound and were searching for prey fled in all directions to avoid it. But... many demonic beasts did not change their direction.
Xu Yourong's aura was undoubtedly the most noble and powerful. But when she was in a weakened state, to these demonic beasts, she was also the most delicious.
If someone could look down at the grassland from the sky at this moment, they would see that within a radius of dozens of li, countless demonic beasts were hidden, like a tide slowly converging on the place where she and Chen Changsheng were. What was most hair-raising was that so many demonic beasts were moving, yet not a single sound was made.
A wind stirred through the pile of grass, and a pair of wings as white as snow appeared behind her.
During her earlier sleep, her true essence had recovered a little, and she had regained some blood. Now, without hesitation, she used it all.
She looked at Chen Changsheng and prepared to reach for his belt. But for some reason, her hand stopped halfway.
The grassland, stretching for dozens of li in all directions, had been turned into a battlefield by tens of thousands of demonic beasts. But the real danger lay outside the battlefield, even farther away.
The dense water plants cast extremely heavy shadows on the water's surface. In those shadows lurked hundreds of demonic vultures.
These demonic vultures were covered in gray feathers, and their green beaks were sharper than ordinary swords.
Even more terrifying were the eyes of these demonic vultures—cold, cruel, and extremely sharp. Neither swords nor their own sharp beaks could compare.
This type of demonic beast had extremely high intelligence, its attack methods were bizarre, and its flight speed was extremely fast. In the outside world, they lived in the northeastern mountains. A single demonic vulture was enough to kill an ordinary Meditation Realm cultivator. Fortunately, the number of demonic vultures in the Eastern Continent was extremely scarce. But who would have thought that the Zhou Garden contained so many?
Hundreds of demonic vultures, not a single one fluttered its wings. They just stared at a certain place deep in the grassland, their eyes cold and bloodthirsty, their stillness terrifying.
From farther away came the ethereal sound of the zither. The gray vulture shadows among the water plants looked incredibly sinister.
Xu Yourong turned around and looked into the distance of the grassland.
She didn't know what dangers were hidden there, nor did she take out the Fate Star Disk, but she had a natural intuition that flying away was not a good choice. She was seriously injured and difficult to heal, unable to unleash her full speed, and she couldn't discern the direction within the grassland. If she chose to fly, she might really die in this sky.
The azure sky above the grassland seemed infinitely vast, allowing free flight, but it was actually very dangerous.
If she were alone, she might be able to leave successfully. But now, a young boy was sleeping behind her, snoring like thunder.
(Today is the Winter Solstice. I wish everyone happiness. I will update more. The next chapter will be out in half an hour.)