txolops Chapter 126 The Dust Settles, The Ship of Oblivion
Chapter 126 The Dust Settles, The Ship of Oblivion
The narrow, dark passage, like the esophagus of a giant beast, was violently writhing and contracting.
Huge rocks kept falling from above, crashing to the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.
"Quick! There's light ahead!" Gu Yan shouted, clutching his left shoulder.
Although the broken sword stuck in Gu Yan's left shoulder was temporarily suppressed by the aura of the Burial Sword Venerable, the intense running aggravated the wound, causing him to grimace in pain, with cold sweat dripping from his chin onto his clothes.
Li Qingge was in even worse condition. She had burned her life essence and withstood an attack from Elder Tuo. At this moment, she was only hanging on by a thread. Her steps were unsteady, and she was almost dragged forward by Gu Yan.
"Boom!"
A muffled, loud thud came from behind, a sign that the underground palace was about to collapse.
A violent shockwave swept through the passage, pushing the two men against their backs and hurling them violently toward the brightly lit exit ahead.
The two stumbled out of the secret passage and rolled into a thick pile of dead leaves.
Immediately afterwards, a violent landslide occurred at the exit behind them, with countless rocks tumbling down, completely blocking the sinful path leading underground.
All the noise came to an abrupt halt.
Gu Yan struggled to lift his eyes and look up.
We discovered that this was a hidden valley.
Ancient trees tower all around, and sunlight filters through the gaps in the leaves, creating dappled light and shadow.
The birdsong was crisp and melodious, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and grass, a world apart from the underground world filled with blood and decay.
"...He survived..."
Gu Yancheng lay sprawled on the ground, breathing in large gulps of fresh air, his chest heaving violently.
The joy of surviving the ordeal didn't last long, because he caught a glimpse of Li Qingge standing to the side.
Princess Yong'an, who was usually aloof and high-ranking, was dressed in rags, her face covered in blood, and she struggled to sit up.
Those cold eyes were fixed on Gu Yan, their gaze flashing with an extremely complex light.
It was a mixture of shock, inquiry, gratitude, and a kind of adoration that sent chills down Gu Yan's spine.
"Gu Changsheng".
Li Qingge's voice was hoarse: "Who exactly are you?"
Gu Yan's heart skipped a beat.
coming.
The most troublesome part is here.
He went too far in the underground palace.
Paper dolls for death, causal connections, and even the final move of using the will of a Nascent Soul cultivator to summon a deity—which of these is a method that a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator could possess?
If it were a naive and innocent person, perhaps they could have gotten away with it by saying they were lucky enough to find a talisman.
Unfortunately, Li Qingge was no fool; she was a member of the royal family and was well-informed.
"Princess, I was just lucky."
Gu Yan forced a sheepish smile, trying to fool the question.
"We were just lucky, our ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke."
"luck?"
Li Qingge shook her head, her gaze intense: "To be able to manipulate Elder Wang so easily, to be able to defeat Elder Tuo, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, with a single finger—is that just luck? Your final move, the Summoning God Technique, is a long-lost ancient secret technique. And your bizarre paper doll substitution method… Gu Changsheng, you've kept this from me for so long."
She struggled to move a few inches closer to Gu Yan, her tone softening: "But don't worry, I'm not one to repay kindness with enmity. If it weren't for you today, I would have already perished. I will keep your secret. When we return to the Prince's residence, I will tell my father everything. With your talent and strength, you're more than qualified to be a senior elder; you won't have to remain in that small Changning County."
Li Qingge spoke sincerely; she genuinely wanted to recruit this hidden talent.
But in Gu Yan's view, this was no different from the death warrant issued by the King of Hell.
Are you kidding me? To become an elder offering sacrifices? That would be like trapping him and roasting him over a fire!
Once he enters the core of the Prince's mansion, his background will be thoroughly investigated, and his secrets will be watched by countless eyes.
At that point, forget about farming safely; it's hard to say whether you'll even be able to survive with a whole corpse.
Moreover, in this world, only the mouths of the dead can keep secrets.
A living person's promise is worthless when faced with personal gain.
The simple smile on Gu Yan's face slowly disappeared.
He slowly sat up, the broken sword on his left shoulder trembling with the movement.
He looked at Li Qingge, his gaze becoming meaningful.
"Princess, will you really keep this a secret for me?" Gu Yan asked softly.
"Of course," Li Qingge nodded, "I swear on my Dao heart."
"The concept of the Dao is too ethereal and elusive."
Gu Yan sighed and took out a snow-white paper-cut from his sleeve.
It was a paper boat, only the size of a thumb, exquisitely crafted, with intricate silver patterns painted on its hull.
"What do you want to do?"
Li Qingge instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
Gu Yan's demeanor had changed; the timid pretense had faded, leaving only a sense of alienation that made her feel strange.
"Princess, do you know? Some things are better left unsaid than kept secret."
With a flick of his finger, Gu Yan caused the paper boat to swell in the wind, transforming into a streak of light that hovered between Li Qingge's eyebrows.
"Gu Changsheng! How dare you!"
Li Qingge was shocked and tried to draw her sword, but found that her body was too heavy to lift her hand.
The outburst in the underground palace had exhausted all her potential, and this was when she was at her weakest.
Gu Yan's voice was deep and magnetic, with a strange rhythm: "Carry away the past, leaving only the person in the dream."
The paper boat began to spin, emitting a faint silver glow that rippled outwards like waves, instantly enveloping Li Qingge's sea of consciousness.
"No...don't..."
Li Qingge's gaze began to glaze over, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
She tried hard to see Gu Yan's face clearly, to remember what this man really looked like, but her consciousness seemed to be sinking into the deep sea.
Gu Yan did not intend to erase all her memories; doing so would leave too many traces and be easily detected by Nascent Soul experts.
It's even more impossible for him to kill her directly, as that would make him too suspicious and impossible to clear his name.
What he needs to do is edit.
Like a skilled editor, he cut out the segments that showcased his abilities and then spliced in some reasonable, mediocre material.
Under Gu Yan's control, the images in Li Qingge's mind began to reassemble.
……
Scene 1: Facing Elder Tuo, Gu Yan did not unleash his full power. Instead, Li Qingge, in a desperate situation, unleashed her potential, forcibly activating some kind of royal treasure and delivering a devastating blow.
Scene 2: Gu Yan did not use the summoning spell. He simply threw a few thunderbolts to the side to create chaos, and then carried the seriously injured Li Qingge and ran wildly.
Scene 3: Elder Wang died at the hands of the underground palace organization, not at the hands of Gu Yan.
……
"Go to sleep, you'll feel better after a good night's sleep."
Gu Yan looked at Li Qingge's tightly closed eyes and reached out to catch the paper boat that flew back from between her eyebrows.
A few wisps of gray smoke appeared on the paper boat; those were memories that had been cut out.
Without any hesitation, Gu Yan ignited a wisp of dragon flame at his fingertips, burning the paper boat to ashes.
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"call……"
After doing all this, Gu Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked at Li Qingge, who was lying unconscious on the ground, her face stained with ashes, yet still radiant with beauty.
"Don't blame me."
Gu Yan murmured to himself and reached out to tidy her messy hair.
"You are a high and mighty princess, while I am an ant in the mud. We are not on the same path. Knowing too much is not good for me, nor is it good for you..."
In my mind, the silent female corpse's spirit suddenly spoke, its tone tinged with a hint of mockery and admiration:
"Young man, your heart is harder than that of a heartless man. How could you possibly wash away the soul of such a beauty? If it were anyone else, they would probably be thinking about how to use this to curry favor and win the beauty's heart, wouldn't they?"
"Did you win the heart of your beauty?"
Gu Yan chuckled, enduring the pain as he began tending to the wound on his shoulder: "Beauty is poison, power is shackles. I just want to live, to live longer, and to live more comfortably."
He gritted his teeth, his right hand gripping the hilt of the broken sword on his left shoulder.
"puff!"
Blood splattered.
Gu Yan forcefully pulled the broken sword out, writhing in pain and nearly fainting.
He quickly took out some healing powder and sprinkled it on his wounds, then swallowed a few pills before he recovered.
"This broken sword is also a treasure. Although it is broken, it is still tainted with the blood of a Nascent Soul cultivator and the evil aura of the mortal world."
Gu Yan put the broken sword into his storage bag and cleaned up the traces at the scene.
He completely dispelled his air of superiority, tore his clothes even more, smeared more mud on his face, and even cut a gash on his thigh to create the illusion that "I'm also miserable."
Everything is ready.
Gu Yan sat cross-legged behind a tree, closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, and waited for Li Qingge to wake up.
About an hour later.
"Um……"
A low, painful groan shattered the tranquility of the valley.
Li Qingge slowly opened her eyes, feeling a splitting headache, as if someone had struck the back of her head with a heavy hammer.
Her memory experienced a brief gap, so she looked around blankly, then at the wounds covering her body.
"You're awake? Princess, you're finally awake!"
A joyful voice, trembling with tears, rang out.
Li Qingge turned her head and saw the familiar Commander of the Demon Suppression Division running over in a flurry, holding a leaf filled with water in his hand.
At this moment, Gu Yan was taller than before, looked pale, covered in blood, and had thick strips of cloth wrapped around his left shoulder, from which bright red blood seeped out.
"Gu... Changsheng?"
Li Qingge rubbed her temples as memories slowly surfaced in her mind.
Underground Palace, Elder Camel, Elder Wang...
"How...did we escape here?" Li Qingge asked hesitantly.
"Princess, don't you remember?"
Gu Yan's eyes widened, and he gestured with admiration.
"That old monster was trying to kill us when you suddenly unleashed your divine power, a golden light emanating from your body. You were unstoppable, killing gods and Buddhas alike! You blasted that old monster away! Then you passed out, and I carried you on my back, risking my life to escape. The underground palace collapsed right behind us, almost burying us!"
Li Qingge looked at her hands in disbelief.
But there were indeed some blurry fragments in my mind, as if I had used the trump card my father had given me to save my life...
"Yes, it must be the divine thought left by my father in my sea of consciousness."
Li Qingge came up with a reasonable explanation in her own mind.
Besides this, she couldn't think of any other power that could repel a late-stage Golden Core expert.
Looking at Gu Yan's miserable appearance, she felt a pang of guilt.
Although Gu was of little use in his memory, he did not choose to abandon him and run away alone; instead, he carried him out on his back.
This loyalty is truly rare.
"Thanks a lot."
Li Qingge spoke softly, her tone returning to its previous coolness, less distant than before.
"Your injury..."
"Hehe, the little one is tough and won't die."
Gu Yan chuckled foolishly, "As long as the princess is alright, I'd be willing to lose an arm for her."
Seeing Gu Yan's honest and simple appearance, Li Qingge's last doubts dissipated.
He's just a small-time guy who's a bit clever, but timid and cowardly, yet surprisingly loyal.
"This place is not safe to stay any longer; we need to leave as soon as possible."
Li Qingge forced herself to stand up, took out a bottle of pills from her storage bag, and handed it to Gu Yan: "This is the Jade Purity Pill, which will be good for your injuries. I will reward you handsomely when we return this time."
"Thank you for your generous gift, Princess!"
Gu Yan accepted the pills with both hands, tears of gratitude streaming down his face, like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.
The two supported each other as they walked towards the outer edge of Sunset Valley.
As the sun set, it cast long shadows of the two of them.
Gu Yan followed half a step behind Li Qingge, his head bowed, seemingly respectful.
From an angle that Li Qingge couldn't see, the corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a relieved smile.
This world is too dangerous.
He only felt safe when he went back to being that useless Gu Changsheng.
As for that figure in that dimly lit underground palace, who shattered a golden pill with a single finger and whose hand could cover the sky...
Let him sink forever into the river of oblivion along with that paper boat.
"Oh, right."
Li Qingge suddenly stopped, turned around to look at Gu Yan, and frowned, asking, "Where's my jade box?"
Gu Yan's heart skipped a beat, her face blank with confusion: "Jade box? What jade box? Ah! Princess, you mean that box that holds treasures? It was so chaotic back then, I think... it fell inside?"
A look of regret flashed in Li Qingge's eyes. That jade box contained the inheritance of a Nascent Soul level cultivator!
"So be it. What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force."
She sighed, stopped asking questions, and continued walking.
Gu Yan sneered inwardly.
The severed finger in the jade box lay quietly deep inside his storage bag.
That's not just a legacy, but a hot potato, a treasure that could drive the entire cultivation world crazy.
But now this treasure belongs to the Gu family.
Shortly after the two left.
Before the ruins of the collapsed secret passage, space suddenly distorted.
A mysterious person dressed in a black robe and wearing a Vermilion Bird mask appeared out of thin air.
He looked at the pile of rubble, then down at the marks on the ground, and reached out to grab a handful of air.
"strangeness……"
The mysterious man's voice was hoarse, filled with doubt: "There are clearly strong residual fluctuations of rules here, so why can't we deduce any cause and effect? It's like trying to hide something obvious..."
"Could it be that a powerful being intervened and erased the secrets of heaven?"
He was silent for a moment, then his figure blurred and disappeared again, leaving only a whisper echoing in the wind:
"The variables in Sunset Valley... are really... increasing..."
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