Chapter 21: Two Dreams—Part 8

Ti Ying’s cultivation is not as good as Hua Shi’s.

Many people regret Ti Ying’s situation while admiring Hua Shi: Among the young disciples of this generation, isn’t Sister Hua the leader?

When Hua Shi wielded her sword, she didn’t even regard Ti Ying.

With Ti Ying’s weak cultivation, she couldn’t possibly kill Suan Yu.

Hua Shi wanted to tease this girl, who might become her junior sister, and arrogantly thought: She’s too unruly; I’ll teach her some manners.

With a sword imbued with talismans about to strike Ti Ying, Ti Ying clumsily drew some talismans on a piece of paper, and she disappeared on the spot.

The yellow paper was slapped onto the sword, leaving it empty.

The next moment, Ti Ying appeared behind a cultivator watching the spectacle, smiling and saying, “Strange senior sister, I’m here.”

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Chen Da watched Ti Ying being chased by Hua Shi like this, sweating for Ti Ying: “Immortal Jiang, aren’t you helping the little fairy?”

Jiang Xuehe remained calm.

He possessed patience far beyond that of ordinary people.

He patiently tried to understand Ti Ying, figuring out what Ti Ying was doing, why she didn’t seek his help, and whether she didn’t like him.

Jiang Xuehe’s eyes were fixed on the fight. “Just wait.”

—

The Shen siblings observed the chaos below.

Shen Yushu chuckled. “This girl who’s fighting with the Hua Shi is quite interesting. There are countless people in this world who can defeat Hua Shi, but very few can make her so irritable.”

She regretted, “If it weren’t for her poor talent, I would have wanted to take her as a disciple now.”

People with cultivation as profound as hers and her brother’s often only needed a glance to judge the depth of a young person without having to investigate their spiritual roots.

Shen Yushu commented so much, and Shen Xingchuan remained calm: Talent? What’s so impressive about that?

Shen Yushu lowered her eyes, sighing lightly in her heart: Her brother was one of the top talents in the clan. If not for him, the Shen family couldn’t have found a position at the Yujing sect, and she wouldn’t have had today’s encounter.

If she wanted a place at the Yujing sect, she could only continue to please her brother… He was taciturn, but she was used to it.

Shen Yushu smiled faintly, bringing up a topic that her brother would definitely be more interested in: “Brother, if you’ve encountered Ye Sha, these little fights among these children below naturally wouldn’t matter to you.”

Shen Xingchuan’s eyes flickered.

Shen Yushu asked, “Brother, have you really never found Ye Sha again?”

Shen Xingchuan answered indirectly, “Four years ago, when I arrived at the Duansheng Dao, the entire valley was full of corpses. Various pieces of evidence indicated that Ye Sha had defected, and no one in the world could tolerate him.”

Shen Yushu said, “What a pity. Although the DuanSheng Dao is not a good place, the Double “Ye” youths there are gaining popularity.”

—

In this small town, cultivators gathered at the registration place of the Yujing sect, while in a remote, dilapidated shack, a woman’s miserable screams were isolated within an array.

A black-clad youth lazily sat on a small stool, his feet resting on the woman below him, who had been skinned and disemboweled by him, covered in blood.

He used a soul-scraping knife to repeatedly brush against the woman’s spiritual bones and roots.

The woman crawled on the ground like a worm, her hands reduced to bare bones, trembling as they clutched the youth’s clothes.

The woman pleaded weakly, “I’ve told you everything… Just let me die; I can’t take it anymore.”

The youth lowered his head, a shallow smile in his eyes.

He had a very tender baby face, his round eyes always filled with laughter, innocent yet cruel—

With such a smile, he called the woman beneath his feet “Sister Kind-hearted Fairy,” deceiving her to come and be humiliated.

The youth rested his chin on his hand and said, “You’re still in this state, yet you haven’t changed your mind. It seems like everything you said is true.”

The woman’s breath was faint. “Our group… I followed my senior brothers and sisters to… to chase Ti Ying… Ti Ying can revive people… we don’t know Jiang Xuehe…”

The youth chuckled.

He squatted down and said, “Good sister, I understand now. You chase little sister Ti Ying, and I’ll chase brother Jiang Xuehe… Hehe, I really don’t know how brother Jiang managed to get himself a junior sister, but they’re all fake.

“He can only have me as a brother.”

The youth murmured softly.

Jiang Xuehe is really formidable…

To kill him, perhaps one needs to start with that girl, Ti Ying.

The youth smiled at the woman and said, “Sister, I’ll send you to your death.”

Amidst the woman’s screams, he casually stabbed her. Thinking she would find relief in death, she didn’t expect the youth to then use his techniques to trap her soul and seal it into one of his artifacts.

The woman cursed bitterly.

The youth wiped off the blood splatter on his face. “I’ve heard that Jiang Xuehe can make all the wronged souls follow him. How could I possibly let you go to report? Good sister, I’m commandeering your soul.”

Fifteen minutes later, the shack was empty, devoid of any traces of violence or blood.

This eerie method was beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.

Meanwhile, in front of a steward on the main street of the town, who watched with a troubled expression as Ti Ying and Hua Shi fought, approached a black-clad youth.

This youth, innocent yet nervous, said, “My name is Li Bu; I’m a wandering cultivator. I heard that the Yujing sect accepts disciples regardless of background, so I want to give it a try.”

His clear black eyes showed no hint of malice.

The juniors below were engaged in lively combat. High above, Shen Xingchuan said to Shen Yushu, “Don’t mention the Double “Ye” youths of the Duansheng Dao.”

Shen Yushu was taken aback.

Shen Xingchuan continued, “Ye Lang is nowhere near Ye Sha.”

Shen Yushu replied, “The Duansheng Dao is specifically for resolving conflicts within the cultivation world that their own sects can’t handle. They train their disciples rigorously, using secret techniques to strip others of their spiritual bones, roots, facial features, and senses, and transplanting them onto their own disciples… The Double “Ye” youths are the best weapons they’ve raised.”

Shen Yushu gently continued, “I don’t understand my brother’s obsession. I don’t know where Ye Sha is better than Ye Lang when it comes to killing— in my opinion, all the excellence of the Double “Ye” youths comes from depriving others. Such false talents shouldn’t exist.”

After a pause, Shen Xingchuan said, “Ye Sha himself is exceptional… You know, many years ago, during my travels, I encountered Ye Sha once. At that time, he was too young and couldn’t have been subjected to the Duansheng Dao’s secret techniques. I valued his talent and wanted to take him as my disciple. I’ve been trying to take Ye Sha away from the Duansheng Dao…”

Shen Yushu nodded.

For someone like her brother, who was a fanatic about cultivation, encountering a promising talent naturally sparked strong determination.

But well—

Shen Yushu smiled. “Didn’t Ye Sha reject you?”

Shen Xingchuan said, “But after the annihilation of the Duansheng Dao, I encountered Ye Sha once.”

—

What qualities make a successful killing tool can be gleaned from Ye Sha—

He’s meticulous, unpredictable, adept at lying, capable of mimicking most immortal sects’ techniques, and skilled in both useful and useless skills.

If you were to meet him on a narrow path, you wouldn’t find him ruthless and cruel.

He has a refined face, a captivating mouth, beautiful eyes… His entire existence is meant to subdue you.

No one can outlast his patience.

He was once the Duansheng Dao’s proudest pawn.

But one day, Ye Sha destroyed the Duansheng Dao, killing all of his kind in the valley.

No one knows why Ye Sha suddenly went mad. Upon hearing this, Shen Xingchuan rushed to the Duansheng Dao. While others sought to kill Ye Sha, he sought to save him.

It was raining that day.

Under the dreary sky, Shen Xingchuan walked among the corpses, and he saw the teenage boy sitting amidst the pile of dead in the valley.

He was a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy.

Covered in blood, tears streaming down his face, he had killed so many people that a haze of resentment and guilt shrouded him, obscuring his features.

The rain couldn’t wash away the blood.

The boy was enveloped in countless grievances and sins. The intense and thick aura of death even gave Shen Xingchuan pause.

The boy looked up.

His hairband was wet from the rain, his lips rosy and his teeth white. He exuded an air of carefree freedom.

It was rumored that Ye Sha killed incessantly, becoming numb to his own actions. Yet Ye Sha was also carefree and charming, smiling whenever he met someone, even causing his enemies to bow before his charm.

Shen Xingchuan liked this boy.

He saw something in this boy that he himself had never possessed, and he wanted to help him.

He also wanted to know if, given a different environment, Ye Sha could become the most dazzling star in the immortal sects.

As the rain poured down, Ye Sha, the killer who had slain his fellow Duansheng Dao members, looked up and saw Shen Xingchuan.

Shen Xingchuan reiterated his old offer.

The boy lowered his gaze.

Raindrops trickled down his eyelashes, flowed from his chin to his palm, and finally disappeared on the hilt of the sword he leaned on.

Ye Sha’s eyelashes drooped slightly as he once again refused, “No need; I’ve already found a new home for myself.”

There was a smile in the boy’s eyes, along with a rare tenderness.

Shen Xingchuan couldn’t allow such a killing tool to roam freely in the world.

The taciturn man tried to persuade Ye Sha, “You’ll ruin your own life.”

“I won’t,” the boy said, raising his head, his face stained with blood, seemingly indifferent yet in extremely good spirits. His eyes sparkled with vitality. “I’ve never lost in my life.”

—

In the ongoing battle below, Ti Ying finally exhausted her energy and was struck down to the ground by Hua Shi’s sword.

Ti Ying’s face was pale and bloodless.

Observing the reactions of the people around her and seeing Hua Shi’s arrogance as she approached, Ti Ying gave up resistance— her goal had been achieved.

Even as such a weak disciple, being able to exchange blows with Hua Shi would surely earn her favor from the elders of the Yujing sect, and these disciples would remember her. It was a pity her spiritual sea was depleted, her spiritual energy too weak… Otherwise, she could have been even more renowned.

Hua Shi sneered, “Not running away anymore?”

With her eyes lowered, Ti Ying mischievously thought about how spitting blood would garner sympathy—

A fluctuation in the air.

Someone approached from behind and grasped her hand.

Ti Ying lacked the ability to draw void talismans, yet this person held her hand and together they drew brilliant golden talismans in the void, blocking Hua Shi’s attack.

A cool breeze blew, like swirling snow.

Jiang Xuehe appeared calm and gentle. “Little Ying, it’s not time to give up on your life yet.”

A gray gauze brushed over her face, carrying his chilly aura and traces of spiritual energy… spiritual energy!

Ti Ying suddenly turned her head and tiptoed, acting coquettishly, “Can I enter your spiritual sea?”

—For cultivators, this was like asking if they could do something reserved only for a spiritual partner.

The hood brushed over Jiang Xuehe’s face, obscuring him from view.

High above, Shen Xingchuan suddenly stood up, his confusion deepening in his eyes.