Into The Sea

The wind outside the barrier was even more biting. Lan Wu finally stood before Lan Yueyao, holding up the cold stone tablet. “Isn’t the remaining part of this with you?”

Lan Yueyao didn’t speak, but turned her hand over, and a fragmented piece appeared in her palm.

Lan Wu froze for a moment, her gaze settling on it. “Look, the broken surface of this slab is covered in green dots. This is the characteristic of Queqing Stone.”

“So what?”

“Queqing Stone was only discovered in the last hundred years.” Lan Wu clenched the cold fragment in her hand, her voice hoarse. “Don’t you understand? This stone tablet isn’t the original one. The inscription on it isn’t the true resurrection technique.”

Lan Yueyao stared at her, then lowered her eyes to look at the tablet in her palm.

The icy wind brushed against their faces, and everyone stood in silence, their eyes fixed on Lan Yueyao.

“Fake?” The woman murmured. “Why?”

She shook her head, saying softly, “When I attacked Penglai, it was an impulsive decision. The cultivators of Penglai couldn’t have known in advance, and they couldn’t have switched the tablets so suddenly.”

“Was it really an impulsive decision?” Lan Wu questioned. “You once told me that sixty years ago, when you were preparing to take revenge on Lan Zhichuan, you suddenly heard someone mention Penglai, and that’s why you changed your mind and attacked Penglai first. Do you remember who mentioned it?”

Lan Yueyao blinked, shaking her head. “It’s been too long. I don’t remember.”

“Then do you know that the Chu family has always been in contact with the demons, and that they were also the ones who destroyed Wangliang City from the inside?”

Lan Wu took a step forward, raising her voice. “From the very beginning, you’ve been caught in their trap. Chu Chen is still alive, and Lan Zhichuan might still be alive too. It was they who swapped out the tablet to trick you into doing evil, to force you to commit atrocities. You can’t keep going like this! Aunt, your demons still revere you. If you give the order, they’ll listen. Please stop this! This was meaningless from the very beginning!”

“How is that possible?” Lan Yueyao said through gritted teeth. “If they knew I was going to attack Penglai, why didn’t they prepare in advance? Why didn’t they run away? I almost killed all the Penglai disciples who were there that night. Were they all pushed out to die on purpose? And Lan Zhichuan, how can he possibly still be alive? I tore out his mermaid pearl with my own hands. I watched him die. There’s no way he’s alive!”

Lan Wu opened her mouth, almost sighing. “Exactly…”

She looked at Lan Yueyao with tear-filled eyes, feeling an overwhelming sense of sorrow. “Only by paying such a heavy price would you never suspect them. Only then would you… would you believe that the underground palace they were willing to give their lives to protect, and the tablet inside it, would be real… Aunt, you’ve never been as ruthless as them.”

“…”

Lan Yueyao blinked in a daze, shaking her head and stepping back, still murmuring, “No, it’s impossible…”

“Aunt…”

“Shut up!” Lan Yueyao suddenly looked up, her blue eyes now bloodshot. The wind howled, and an invisible demonic force surged towards them. Ji Lingyue’s heart tightened. She instantly appeared in front of Lan Wu and struck out with her palm.

With a loud bang, Lan Wu was pushed back two steps by the shockwave. She instinctively used both hands to shield her face. Sand beat against her, and she forced her eyes open. Ji Lingyue’s hair was swirling wildly, her feet deeply embedded in the sand. Her once neat clothes were now fluttering behind her.

The woman’s expression was cold, her long, narrow eyes fixed on Lan Yueyao. “I knew it. Lan Wu has always been trying to see things from your perspective, to feel your pain. But have you ever shown her any mercy?”

“Feel my pain?” Lan Yueyao chuckled, “If she truly felt my pain, she wouldn’t have stopped me from resurrecting Chunhan. She wouldn’t have fabricated such lies to persuade me to stop. She only cares about righteousness, about the lives of strangers she’s never met.”

“Has she ever thought about her mother? Her mother died for her sake! If she had any conscience at all, she should have stayed out of this. Even standing by and doing nothing would have been better than deceiving me like this!”

Ji Lingyue bit her lip. “You don’t understand anything!”

Demonic power surged from her body. The woman’s red eyes glowed, like a burning flame. She stepped forward against the wind, finally managing to dissipate the murderous demonic force before her. Her voice, filled with anger, reached Lan Yueyao’s ears. “Lan Wu didn’t want to tell you, so I will!”

Lan Wu was shocked. “Ah Yue…”

“Do you think Lan Wu doesn’t want to revive Chu Chunhan?” Ji Lingyue pushed her aside. “But Chu Chunhan can never come back. You destroyed the last hope with your own hands. You personally killed her last soul fragment!”

Lan Yueyao was stunned. “What did you say?”

” You searched all these years without finding Chu Chunhan’s last soul fragment, didn’t you? Where do you think it was? Why do you think Lan Wu is still alive?” Ji Lingyue clenched her fist, her voice trembling. “Whether it was when Chu Chunhan self-destructed her spiritual core, or when you sent demons to dig out Lan Wu’s mermaid pearl fifteen years ago, it was Chu Chunhan’s last soul fragment that protected her. You want to revive Chu Chunhan, but you want to hurt the daughter she sacrificed everything to protect. You have no idea what you’ve done!”

Lan Yueyao slowly widened her eyes. “Nonsense…”

“Chu Chunhan’s last soul fragment has always been hidden in Lan Wu’s spiritual sea. You thought one missing fragment didn’t matter, but that fragment carried all her memories!” Ji Lingyue raised her voice, her voice filled with grief. “It has completely dissipated to protect Lan Wu. Even if you use the incomplete soul to revive her, the person you bring back won’t be the original Chu Chunhan!”

“No,” Lan Yueyao denied, her eyes reddened further. “No, you’re lying again!  You and Lan Wu are the same. How dare you both use such a crude methods to trick me!”

“Do you really think it’s a lie?” Ji Lingyue shook her head. “Have you never wondered why Lan Wu survived Chunhan’s self-destruction as a mere child? Or why didn’t she die immediately after her mermaid pearl was dug out? Have you never thought about it?”

Lan Yueyao’s long lashes trembled, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she gasped for breath. Her bloodshot eyes gradually filled with tears. “Ismpossible…”

She clenched her fist, her voice sharp. “Impossible!”

A damp mist began to rise from her feet, swirling and spreading outward. A gentle, inexplicable breeze swept across the sand, ruffling everyone’s clothes. Ji Lingyue, however, sensed a dangerous aura. She tensed her body, raising her hand protectively in front of Lan Wu.

A pure, flawless pearl fell to the ground with a soft clink. Lan Yueyao lifted her tear-streaked face, her shoulders shaking as she began to laugh. “You think you can break me like this? Ridiculous!”

She spread her arms, madness overtaking her expression, her laughter growing louder. “I refuse to listen to any more lies. Disgusting, it’s too disgusting! I’ve had enough. I’m going to kill you all–”

As soon as she finished speaking, the surging demonic energy coalesced into several roaring dragons, charging through the whirlwind toward them. Lan Wu’s pupils contracted, her face shadowed by the massive, looming figures. Cold droplets of water fell like rain from the sky.

So enormous, yet so beautiful.

“Lan Wu!”

Ji Lingyue’s urgent voice reached her ears. Lan Wu sighed silently, slowly closing her eyes.

“Illusion Technique: Soul Binding.”