VAP - Chapter 93
Chapter 93: Flawless Cold Bone, The Peerless Sword Venerable (17)
The core of the Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation was located in a hidden cave three hundred li east of the main gate.
The spiritual energy here wasn’t particularly dense, and the location was remote, so few people ever came by. Coupled with the obfuscation techniques and small concealment formations meticulously arranged by generations of sect masters, it was naturally very well hidden.
Yue Du didn’t let her guard down just because the area was quiet and deserted. She expanded her senses and, sure enough, detected the auras of several magical puppets.
They must have been placed here to patrol the vicinity and guard against the approach of suspicious individuals.
Yue, the “suspicious individual” Du, was completely unafraid. She slapped an invisibility spell on herself and snuck toward the cave.
The puppets were none the wiser.
Yue Du deftly avoided their patrol routes and, relying on the Silent Watcher’s observational capabilities, bypassed all the trigger-based trap formations.
With such precautions, let alone these rigid puppets, even if a Tribulation expert were standing guard here, they might not have been able to detect her presence.
Thus, Yue Du eventually stood before the massive core of the formation without any trouble.
The Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation was a composite formation.
Its core was inside the cave, occupying a large area. Though the cave entrance was small, the interior was a world of its own, more than large enough to accommodate it.
Yue Du lowered her head to observe the runes. In just a few moments, she was certain that the core of this grand formation was inextricably linked to the matter she was investigating.
The reason was simple. At the very eye of the formation, three concentric rings composed of runes were nested within one another, all a deep black, just like the color of the rings on Yun Yijiu.
A closer look revealed a faint layer of white light at the edges of the rings. Wasn’t that exactly the same as the one on Mu Xingluo?
Through her absolute observation, the three interlocking rings operated in quiet stillness.
To Yue Du, this scene was clearly connected to Yun Yijiu, like a giant set of shackles.
She took a deep breath, standing rooted to the spot, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
No wonder the core of this grand formation didn’t need to be placed in a location with dense spiritual energy, and no wonder it didn’t need to drain spirit stones. No wonder it possessed such unbelievably immense power.
Bound to the strongest person of the era, how could it not be powerful!
The formation that annihilated the demon host back then… was it because it was bound to Situ Chu? And Situ Chu herself perished at the age of eight thousand. Could that be related to this?
A gentle breeze rustled the natural curtain of vines hanging before the cave entrance, but the figure who had been there just a moment ago had already vanished.
Yue Du thought she needed to sort all this out properly.
“So that’s how it is,” Yun Yijiu said.
Although those were her words, her expression seemed to suggest it was only to be expected, showing not a hint of surprise.
Yue Du had explained all her thoughts to her host, clarifying her own line of reasoning in the process.
“Checking those ancient texts was just a waste of time,” Yue Du said with conviction, reflecting on her frequent visits to the library pavilion over the past two days.
“If the person—or soul—who acted in secret truly intended to cover this up, they certainly wouldn’t have left evidence lying out in the open.”
Yun Yijiu responded enthusiastically, “Should we confront them directly? I can do it.”
“I’ll say it again: no.”
They could bind a person to the Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation without anyone noticing. Who knew what other sinister schemes they had?
The host was a high-priority protected individual; not the slightest mishap could be allowed!
Yun Yijiu said, “What do you intend to do?”
Before Yue Du could answer, she added, “You are not to go alone, either.”
Yue Du said, “But I’m the most suitable person. I’m not talking about a direct confrontation, just a covert investigation. Is there a better candidate than me?”
Yun Yijiu raised her eyes, her tone turning cool. “You really want to go.”
Yue Du: “…” Crap, the host is about to get angry.
The host, naturally, did not get angry. Yun Yijiu merely pointed out one thing with cold logic—Yue Du’s current actual cultivation was only at the initial Mahayana stage.
If someone had cultivated a secret technique that could see through her concealment methods, she wouldn’t even be able to slip away.
“I am unwilling to let you go alone for the same reason you stop me,” Yun Yijiu said calmly. “Although it can’t be called venturing into danger, the moment it brushes against the word ‘danger,’ I cannot possibly let you go.”
Yue Du was deeply moved and gave her a light, fleeting kiss, which Yun Yijiu then deepened, growing more intense.
Even her kisses carried an imperious chill—not in temperature, but in aura.
But regardless of the aura, the kiss ultimately melted into a scorching emotion, drawn out bit by bit.
After a long while, the Wushuang Sword Venerable looked up and used a silk handkerchief she carried to wipe the corner of Yue Du’s lips.
“There is another way to find out what happened back then.”
Yue Du: “What is it?”
Yun Yijiu took her hand, guiding her fingertips to rest on her own glabella, and tapped it lightly.
“My sea of consciousness.”
Yue Du’s eyes widened abruptly.
The sea of consciousness was one of the common tropes in cultivation stories, but in reality, it was a mental space.
As a System, Yue Du should have been there from the start.
But due to the Main System’s shenanigans in this small world, Yue Du had been by her host’s side for so long yet had never once entered it.
Yun Yijiu raised an eyebrow slightly. “Understand?”
She slid Yue Du’s hand down to her cheek, rubbing against it with an almost imperceptible motion.
“The deep layers of the sea of consciousness are where a cultivator’s forgotten memory fragments are stored. Though it is also a journey into the unknown, my sea of consciousness should be far safer than the lair of some nameless scoundrel.”
The sea of consciousness was a cultivator’s most secret and vulnerable place, and its deep layers—which Yue Du understood to be the subconscious layer—were no different.
In fact, they were even more so.
Yun Yijiu’s proposal was indeed feasible. She had no memory of the rings, which likely meant that the memory had been artificially concealed or even erased.
But even with such a cover-up, though the person herself would be unaware, fragments of those memories would still float in the depths of her sea of consciousness.
That was the subconscious.
It wasn’t that Yue Du had never seen a subconscious layer before—like the deep lake in Qi Jiu’s mental space, or the boundless sea in Nai Yin’s mental domain. They were, in fact, manifestations of the subconscious layer.
She just had no intention of exploring them.
But this time…
Yue Du’s expression turned serious. “Are you sure?”
Yun Yijiu’s gaze softened slightly.
She half-closed her eyes and said in a tone like a soft sigh:
“Everything I have is open to you.”
After a brief silence.
Yue Du shook her head with a small laugh, rose slightly onto her toes, and pressed her forehead against her lover’s.
“Leave it to me. I will find that person.”
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