44: Cangwu Secret Realm

Inside the quiet room.

This was a small space that had been carved out.

The four walls were pure white and boundless, and beneath her feet was a clear lake. A few green lotuses floated quietly on the water, their petals slightly open, revealing crystalline dew.

Yan Qingning lay prone upon this stretch of water.

Her eyes were closed, and her white robes spread across the water like a stretching cloud. Her hair was as dark as ink, strands of it drifting into the water and swaying gently with the ripples.

She had just regained control of her body and come out of Jiang Xun's room.

At this moment, Yan Qingning's face was flushed.

Her mind was filled entirely with the sentence, "Won't you marry me?"

She suppressed the palpitations in her heart.

She said with feigned anger:

"Are you really that impatient?"

She suddenly spoke, her voice very light, as if talking to herself.

The moment her words fell, a phantom slowly rose from her body.

It turned from faint to thick, from illusory to real.

Finally, it condensed into a human form.

It had an identical face and an identical figure, but the eyes were completely different.

They lacked that calm settled over a thousand years and possessed a bit more spirited cunning.

The self corpse.

She stood barefoot on the water, looking down at Yan Qingning beneath her feet.

"Aren't you afraid yourself?" She crouched down, her fingertips lightly touching the water, sending out a ripple. "I can feel it... your cultivation can no longer be suppressed."

Yan Qingning's body on the water couldn't help but tremble.

Ripples instantly spread outward.

This showed that her current state of mind was not peaceful.

"At most a hundred years or so," the self corpse continued, her voice carrying a strange sort of bewitchment, "the Lightning Tribulation will descend. Can you... survive it?"

Yan Qingning did not answer.

But with her as the center, the water's surface began to freeze rapidly.

Transparent ice spread like a spiderweb, covering the entire lake in the blink of an eye. The green lotuses were frozen within the ice, the posture of their unfolding petals frozen into eternity.

This space was instantly transformed into a tomb of carved ice.

"Shut up!" These two words were spat out from Yan Qingning's mouth.

The self corpse smiled.

"You've only just met the person you've been longing for, yet you have only a few years left to live."

"Are you willing to accept that?"

"How many Geniuses, how many capable people have there been since ancient times, yet in the end, how many Cultivators are there on this Path to Immortal Ascension?"

"If you do not slay me, when the Immortal Ascension Tribulation arrives, it will be impossible for you to survive."

She slowly sank beneath the ice, appearing opposite Yan Qingning.

The two were one above and one below, separated by half a foot of ice, lying on either side of the ice in the same posture, their eyes meeting.

Only, one was on the ice, and one was inside the ice.

"You never intended to survive the Immortal Ascension Tribulation anyway, did you?" The self corpse's voice came through the ice, somewhat muffled. "You had long since prepared for death and the dissipation of your Dao."

She seemed to see through Yan Qingning's heart, her tone progressing step by step:

"But you didn't expect him to return."

"What a great opportunity."

"Since you don't want to live anyway..." The self corpse hugged herself.

"Why not give the body to me?

You and I are one; I will love him even more than you do. At least for this century... Jiang Xun and I will be happy."

Yan Qingning, beneath the ice, finally opened her eyes.

Her gaze was very quiet, as quiet as the bottom of this frozen lake.

"Can't you see clearly yet?" she spoke, her voice coming through the ice, clear to the point of being cruel.

"Despite being a Dongxu Realm Cultivator like me, Jiang Xun doesn't love you at all, nor does he love me."

The self corpse's smile froze on her face.

"His heart," Yan Qingning said word by word, "has never truly belonged to me. A thousand years ago... we already missed out on his love."

"So what?!"

The self corpse suddenly became agitated. She slammed her palms against the ice, her voice rising:

"As long as his eyes only ever see us, isn't that enough?!"

"A thousand years ago he said he would marry me; it's time for him to fulfill his promise."

Fine cracks appeared in the ice under her palms, but they were quickly repaired by an even deeper chill.

Yan Qingning looked at her, looking at this "self" that carried all her obsessions, all her grievances, and all her crazed lust.

After a long time, she gently closed her eyes.

There was no denial, and no affirmation.

The door to the quiet room was pushed open in the afternoon.

When Yan Qingning walked out, her face was a few shades paler than usual. She stood under the corridor, looking toward the Sword Training Grounds.

Jiang Xun was practicing his sword.

It was still that same Taichu Hunyuan Sword Scripture; his movements were a bit more fluid than a few days ago, but he was still far from attaining basic mastery. He practiced very focusedly, the sword's edge piercing the air and bringing with it a faint sound of wind.

As if sensing her gaze, he suddenly sheathed his sword and turned to look.

The moment he saw Yan Qingning, Jiang Xun's gaze changed slightly.

Then he strode over, walking very quickly, his sleeves fluttering in the wind.

Walking up to her, he reached out and grabbed her hand.

He held it very tightly.

"Yan Qingning," he spoke, his voice carrying clear reproach, even anger.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to keep your self corpse?"

Yan Qingning was stunned.

She hadn't expected Jiang Xun to point it out so directly, much less that he would react this way.

"I can suppress it," she said softly.

"Suppress?"

"Is this a problem that can be solved just by suppressing it?!" Jiang Xun stared into her eyes. "I have also slain the three corpses; I know how powerful this thing is."

He spoke frankly, his eyes filled with unconcealed concern.

There was also the pride of once being an Ascension Realm Cultivator.

That real, heavy worry was like a stone crashing into Yan Qingning's heart.

She looked at him for a long time.

"But..." her voice was a bit hoarse, "I don't want to..."

"I know." Jiang Xun let go of her hand, took a step forward, and pulled her into his arms. "I know it all."

Today's Jiang Xun was exceptionally proactive.

His arms were wrapped steadily around her, his chest was warm, and the sound of his heartbeat came through the fabric, steady and powerful.

Yan Qingning leaned into his embrace and closed her eyes.

For a moment, she almost wanted to drown in it.

It was a long time before Jiang Xun let go of her.

But he didn't step back, still maintaining a very close distance as he looked at her.

"Qingning," he suddenly said, "do you know of the... Cangwu Secret Realm?"

Yan Qingning raised her eyes: "I've heard it is a tomb left behind by an Ancient Immortal.

Why do you ask this?"

Jiang Xun looked at her, showing concern.

"I just suddenly remembered some things; perhaps they can help you."

Yan Qingning was silent.

She didn't seem to believe him.

Jiang Xun said solemnly:

"After all, I was once an Ascension Realm Cultivator. Although I died and am starting over, I still know some secrets."

"So you want to go treasure hunting?" Yan Qingning said.

"Yes." Jiang Xun nodded, then shook his head again. "But not entirely."

He looked into her eyes, his tone becoming serious:

"This trip is for you."

"For me?"

"In the Cangwu Secret Realm, there is an Ancient Treasure called the three lives mirror," Jiang Xun said slowly.

"This mirror can help you with the Fusion of your self corpse. Not only will it increase your strength, but it can also help you see through the delusions of your heart, which will be of great benefit to your Breakthrough."

Yan Qingning was silent for a moment.

"Where is the Secret Realm?" she said. "Tell me what the item is, and I will go and get it."

"No." Jiang Xun shook his head. "The Formations and mechanisms inside are complex, and I am quite familiar with the place. It will be safer if I accompany you."

He paused, raising his hand to lightly tug at the black silk ribbon around his neck.

"With this here," he looked into her eyes, "are you still afraid I'll run?"

Yan Qingning didn't speak.

She just looked at him, looking at that frank, almost scorching "for your own good" in his eyes.

After a long while, she leaned forward slightly, her forehead resting gently against his shoulder.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Her voice was very low, carrying a sort of almost weary confusion. "If I were to die in the Immortal Ascension Tribulation... wouldn't you be free?"

Jiang Xun's body stiffened slightly.

Then he reached out and gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Compared to freedom..." He heard his own voice, very soft, yet very clear:

"I would rather be trapped by your side forever."

The wind blew from outside the corridor, catching the sleeves of both their robes.

Yan Qingning leaned against his shoulder, but her heart was tearing in silent pain.

Lying to me again.

She had experienced too much in this thousand years and had long been able to distinguish whether a person's heart carried more kindness or more malice.

And while every word Jiang Xun said was sincere, she could still hear a hint of deception within them.

What he said was by no means as selfless as it seemed on the surface.

But she didn't care about any of that; as long as Jiang Xun was by her side for now, it was enough.

Jiang Xun didn't move.

He just quietly held her, his gaze cast toward the distant sea of clouds, his eyes deep.