It was unknown whether it was because he was too badly injured or for some other reason, but Cen Qianshan slept very deeply. Even in his sleep, he held Mu Xue's hand tightly, and never relaxed his grip.
Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, Mu Xue didn't want to wake him up, so she tried to make her steps as light as possible and walked slowly in the dark tunnel for a long time.
Warm yellow lanterns, dark and cold roads, and the hills held in my hands. Time seems to have returned to the past, those days that were obviously difficult but reassuring.
There was light ahead, and the long tunnel had reached its exit. Mu Xue emerged from the tunnel, and outside was a valley, with insects chirping and birds singing, and the sky was bright and dazzling.
She reached out to cover Cen Qianshan's eyes and eyebrows and looked around.
The exit of the tunnel was located halfway up the mountain. Looking down, the mountain wall was dotted with numerous caves of various sizes. The caves were deep and no one knew where they led to. Outside the caves, there were stone paths connecting the upper and lower parts, and bridges in the air connecting them.
There are traces of artificial carving everywhere, but the valley is quiet and empty, without any human voice.
If you look up, you will see the mountain walls towering into the clouds, and there is a vast expanse of sky above your head. There is no sun or moon, no stars, and you don't know where the light in the sky comes from.
The eyelids of the person under the palm of the hand moved slightly.
"Are you awake?" Mu Xue loosened her fingers, removed her hand, and looked down at him.
Fallen leaves are drifting in the mountains, and insects are chirping.
The palm moved down, revealing a pair of autumn-like eyes, which were gentle and deep, with an unbearable joy in them, and they were staring at her without blinking.
Being stared at by such eyes, Mu Xue's heart beat inexplicably faster. She suddenly had an absurd idea that she should do something in such a quiet and deserted mountain.
Cen Qianshan, who was pale above the white clouds, propped up his arms and struggled to sit up, but was pushed back into the clouds by Mu Xue.
"Just lie down and sleep until you recover. If anything happens on the way, let me handle it first."
Mu Xue felt angry when she thought of how he had ignored her will, forced her to stay in armor, and walked through the storm-ravaged space alone, injuring herself like this.
"If you do this again next time, I will not care and will just tie you up with the Immortal Binding Rope." Mu Xue threatened the wounded man who was unable to resist on the cloud bed, "See how you can stop me from joining the battle."
A bright red rope materialized from the back of her hand and spun proudly in the air.
"Tie... tie me?" Cen Qianshan had no idea what he was thinking of, and a suspicious blush appeared on his bloodless cheeks.
He clearly only said two words, but Mu Xue suddenly realized that she had said something dirty again.
All those things I had seen in the storybooks over the years, intentionally or unintentionally, suddenly came to my mind. The erotic scenes described in detail had the face of the male protagonist from then on.
The strongest man in the demon world and his bound hands, the red rope under the grape trellis and the struggling body, the manipulated happiness and the tears that were manipulated at will...
A chaotic array of images flashed through Mu Xue's mind one after another.
Mu Xue reached out and pinched herself secretly, spat on herself fiercely, and wished she could slap herself twice.
Why didn’t I realize before that you are such a wretched master
It’s a waste of Xiaoshan’s admiration and respect for you since childhood.
She was distractedly leading Ying Tianyun and the little disciple on the cloud whom she dared not look directly at at the moment, down the steep stone steps on the mountain path.
At the foot of the stone steps, the valley floor is covered with wild grass and green pines.
Not long after walking, Mu Xue found several tombstones behind a lush ancient pine tree.
Since falling into this valley, the entire valley, whether it is stone statues or cliff carvings, have become exquisite and gorgeous, with meticulous carvings of worship of gods and a thick patina left over from millions of years.
Only this row of stone tablets stood abruptly in the wild grass, so rough and simple, as if someone had hastily made them with a knife and an axe. They were also much newer, no more than one or two hundred years old.
Mu Xue walked forward and parted the grass to take a closer look.
The surface of each stone tablet is smooth and has no name or surname, nor does it mention the person who erected the tablet or the date when it was erected. Only on the top of each stone tablet is a mountain pattern similar to a lotus shape deeply engraved.
Mu Xue's heart sank. She was very familiar with this pattern.
Nine petals, nine peaks. Jiulian Mountain, where the Guiyuan Sect's mountain gate is located, is also the sect emblem that represents the identity of Guiyuan Sect disciples. Now, the talisman jade that Mu Xue carries with her has an identical pattern.
This means that a group of Guiyuan Sect disciples came here one or two hundred years ago, but all died here, buried in a foreign land, and never returned.
Mu Xue pulled out the weeds and saw a talisman jade unique to the disciples of Guiyuan Sect placed neatly on the grave.
This item is distributed to all disciples when they enter the sect. Once worn, it will accompany them for life, even after death. There is only one situation in which this item can be taken off and left here. This is that the person has been expelled from the sect, causing the talisman jade to lose its unique array effect.
Mu Xue picked up the talisman jade and wiped off the thick dust. The talisman that had been covered with dust for many years was exactly the same as the one Mu Xue was wearing, except that the words "Xu Kun" were written on the front where her name was written.
"Xu Kun?" Mu Xue looked through the talisman jade, but couldn't remember who this name belonged to.
She had studied the history of the sect, and she remembered the names of the famous uncles and ancestors of the sect. But she couldn't remember who this Xu Kun was. She had no choice but to put the talisman into her storage bag, and planned to consult her master Su Xingting after she returned.
Mu Xue put away the talisman jade and walked around the area. Sure enough, she found a few carved stone houses under a cliff not far away.
Although the house is now full of cobwebs and thick dust, it is still fully equipped with tables, chairs, stone beds, stoves and cooking utensils, showing that someone has lived here for quite some time.
On the stone cliff outside the door, there are deep and crisscross sword marks. Even though hundreds of years have passed, the eerie sword intent is still clearly left on the cliff, never erased by time.
Mu Xue looked up at the sword marks left hundreds of years ago.
This set of swordsmanship was passed down to Senior Brother Fu Yun by Mu Xue's master Su Xingting, and also passed on to her Nine Plum Blossom Swords.
I wonder which of the seniors in the sect used the sword here. The sword was so pure, but was it eventually trapped in the valley and buried in a foreign land
Mu Xue walked around the area for a long time, but didn't find a single living person, nor did she find anything else. She had no choice but to go back to the tombstones without words and clear the weeds from the graves.
She then took out the sect's unique fruit snacks from her storage bag, placed a few plates on the table, and then burned incense and prayed.
"My dear predecessors, I, your disciple Zhang Xiaoxue, happened to pass by this place. I burn three incense sticks to pay tribute to the heroic spirits from afar. I hope that the souls of the predecessors can return to their hometown as soon as possible, enter reincarnation, and ascend to the great road again."
After saying this, she bowed respectfully several times before getting up and leaving.
This incident made Mu Xue feel heavy-hearted. What exactly is this strange valley? Why are there former disciples of Guiyuan Sect buried here? Can she find the way back? These are still unknown.
Mu Xue glanced at Cen Qianshan who was sleeping soundly in the clouds.
The first thing to do is to protect the injured hill, and then slowly find the exit. Don't lose your composure first.
She left the Soul Tomb and walked forward in one direction in the valley flanked by stone cliffs. As she went deeper, pairs of statues of the God of Joy gradually began to appear on the cliffs on both sides of the valley.
These statues are no longer like the statues seen in the Happy City on the ground. They are artificially carved, with obvious craftsmanship, rigid movements and dull expressions.
When you get here, you will find that the male gods here are strong and masculine, and the female gods are graceful and elegant, like flowers covered with spring dew. Whether it is their demeanor or skin texture, everything is delicate and lifelike. It is truly a masterpiece of nature, beyond human ability.
Compared with the statues here, the sculptures on the ground that were criticized by the disciples of Guiyuan Sect can be considered to be extremely dignified and polite.
In this quiet and deserted valley, the actions of the gods seemed to have no regard for worldly etiquette and were completely unbridled and unrestrained. They were either affectionate and lingering, or secretly communicating with each other. The overall behavior was almost unbearable to watch and immoral.
Even though Mu Xue had lived two lives, she couldn't help but blush when she walked on such a road. At this time, she couldn't help but feel lucky that Cen Qianshan was injured and unconscious all the way, so he didn't see these things, which saved them a lot of embarrassment.
Little did she know that at this moment, Cen Qianshan, who was lying on the clouds in the sky, had his back to her, his eyes closed, but a hint of crimson gradually appeared on his fair earlobes.