The hesitation lasted but a split - second. Memories of the past flashed before her eyes. When Nan Chaoyu raised her head again, her eyes were firm.
The Xuanbing Sword unsheathed in an instant, bringing with it a glint of cold light as it slashed towards the man opposite.
When the tip of the sword was about to pierce the man's heart, the man in front suddenly smiled. Nan Chaoyu's sword tip paused for a moment.
In just that split - second, the scene before her changed abruptly. Snowflakes began to fall, and the man who should have been under her sword suddenly appeared in the distance.
"Yu'er, you can't bear to hurt your master!"
This long, drawn - out sigh fluttered in the air, lingering in Nan Chaoyu's ears.
It seemed to be far and near, high and low, gradually solidifying as if it had gained strength.
"No! You abandoned me. I should kill you, kill you, kill you!"
"I don't feel reluctant to part with you. You don't treat me as your disciple. I don't have a master like you."
"Ever since you tried to burn me to death, I've had no such master, and I'm not a member of the Nan family!"
Nan Chaoyu's eyes were blood - red. She picked up the Xuanbing Sword and charged straight at the white figure in front of her.
She seemed to have gone mad!
However, no matter how hard she tried, she always missed the man in front by a hair's breadth.
No matter how fast the sword tip was or how quickly she circulated her spiritual energy, she could never catch up with the man in front.
The more this happened, the more determined she was to strike.
She seemed to be possessed!
Suddenly, when she missed the man again, a hand landed on her wrist.
A cool sensation instantly rushed into her brain, and the voice in her ear faded. Nan Chaoyu regained a moment of clarity.
A cold voice came from beside her, "Sit cross - legged on the spot, condense your qi into your spirit, and shut off your five senses."
Nan Chaoyu instinctively did as she was told. The Xuanbing Sword slipped from her hand, and she sat cross - legged on the spot.
I don't know how much time had passed when Nan Chaoyu slowly opened her eyes. In front of her was still the empty valley where they had come.
Mu Qihan's cold voice came from her ear, "You're awake!"
Nan Chaoyu turned her head and happened to meet Mu Qihan's gaze. She instantly concealed the extra emotions in her eyes, raised an eyebrow, and said cheerfully, "Young Master Mu, it was you who saved me. Should I marry you to repay you?"
Mu Qihan was stunned. He was a bit surprised by her sharp sense. Generally, when people came out of an illusion, their state of mind would usually be affected.
But this girl in front of him had managed to conceal her emotions in just a split - second and even had the mood to tease him.
Thinking of this, he turned around and walked forward. "Since you're okay, let's go!"
Seeing that he really meant to leave without any hesitation, Nan Chaoyu quickly caught up. "Hey hey hey, Young Master Mu, why are you so heartless? You're just leaving like this. I almost went crazy just now!"
"Aren't you fine?"
"Where am I fine? Look, my hands are full of cuts."
Saying this, she stretched out her delicate hands.
Mu Qihan didn't want to look, for fear that this girl would get more bold and say something embarrassing.
But unfortunately, Nan Chaoyu didn't know the meaning of shyness when it came to him. She directly put her hands in front of his eyes. "Look, take a look!"
Mu Qihan's gaze uncontrollably drifted to her hands. At this sight, his brows frowned slightly.
On the fair and tender hands in front of him were small cuts made in the illusion. The blood that had flowed out had already scabbed and stuck to the fair back of her hands, looking extremely eye - catching.
"Wait a moment."
Mu Qihan took out a white porcelain bottle from his storage bag. He opened the lid, dipped some ointment, and motioned for Nan Chaoyu to hand over her hand.
Nan Chaoyu blinked her eyes and without hesitation stretched out her hand in front of Mu Qihan.
"This is for treating external injuries. It will heal soon. But what exactly did you encounter? Things in an illusion generally don't hurt people; people can only hurt themselves."
"I saw wind and snow, and a person. You mean all these were imagined by me?"
Mu Qihan nodded. "This Dead Soul Valley is an illusion for tempering the spirit. There's a special aura in the valley that can affect people's minds. As long as you break through this illusion, you can get out."
Nan Chaoyu let out an "um" sound. "If it's an illusion, it's too real."
After applying the medicine, Mu Qihan straightened up. "This is also the most magical part of the Secret Realm of the Soul - Devouring Sea. The restrictions set by that great power here have evolved over the years and already have their own more powerful rules. Just like this Dead Soul Valley, the Spiritual Lake, and the Jade Tree Forest, each has formed its own rules. Even a spiritual practitioner would find it hard to pass."
Nan Chaoyu didn't know much about the Secret Realm of the Soul - Devouring Sea. After hearing his words, she became more vigilant. She retracted her hand and looked around. "I want to find the Flower of the Soul - Devouring Sea. Where should I go?"
Hearing this, a strange look flashed in Mu Qihan's eyes but quickly disappeared. "Follow me!"
Nan Chaoyu followed him without hesitation. Feng Xiao behind her couldn't help but pull her.
She turned around, smiled at Feng Xiao, and motioned for him not to worry.
Mu Qihan walked in front. Soon, the three of them left the Dead Soul Valley. In front of them was a deep, blue lake.
"This is the Spiritual Lake. It was formed by the spiritual energy of that great power."
"Spiritual energy!" A strange look flashed in Nan Chaoyu's eyes. "I didn't expect there to be such a thing on this continent."
"There are many things you don't know." Mu Qihan said indifferently. Without waiting for Nan Chaoyu's reply, he walked to the lake to check.
Nan Chaoyu stared at his back and shouted, "Do you think you're so great just because you know more?"
Hearing this, Mu Qihan looked back at her.
In the past, he would either ignore such remarks or beat the person half to death.
But facing this girl, he actually said, "I'm indeed stronger than you." Then he successfully saw the girl's face change.
Nan Chaoyu wanted to retort, but when she saw him squatting by the lake and finding a rickety small boat after looking around, the words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back.
The small boat was not big. Maybe due to years of disrepair, it swayed on the lake.
Mu Qihan didn't care. He took the lead and jumped onto the boat.
The boat spun in the water and then stopped steadily. Only then did he look up at the two people on the shore. "Come down. We need to meet up with Xiaotian first and then go find the Flower of the Soul - Devouring Sea together."
Nan Chaoyu didn't object. She tapped her toes on the leaves and flowers by the lake and landed in the boat.
Seeing this, Feng Xiao also imitated Nan Chaoyu and landed on the other end of the boat.
When all three of them got on the boat, the rickety boat could hardly bear their weight.
Feng Xiao was tall and took up one end of the boat. Nan Chaoyu immediately felt the boat tilt towards that side. She couldn't help but feel a bit nervous and took a step to the other side, then another.
"Miss Nan, if you keep moving, I'm going to fall."
"Ah!" Nan Chaoyu suddenly turned around and happened to find her back pressed against Mu Qihan's chest.