Chapter 1800: The Faces of All Beings

To Li Yan’s surprise, Liu Siyu was standing quietly by Yan Qingchen’s side. Her beauty had been restored, but her aura was also somewhat chaotic and unstable.

What kind of sect was Huangqi Valley? There were many grades of pills for nourishing essence blood. It seemed she had already taken such a pill some time ago, otherwise, she wouldn’t look as she did now. Yan Qingchen hadn’t killed her but had captured her. Once she was in a spirit-storage space, as long as he hadn’t taken her belongings, she could have used any pill to recover.

The two of them now looked as if they had been injured while exploring the outer areas of the palace. Even if someone noticed something was off, they wouldn’t think much of it.

Although Liu Siyu stood quietly by Yan Qingchen’s side, appearing as infatuated as ever, Li Yan knew the truth of their history. He could see things others couldn’t. Occasionally, a trace of worry would flicker in her eyes.

‘To think she was released… is he not afraid of her reporting him for killing his fellow disciples? For Yan Qingchen to be so at ease, he must have placed some restriction on her. With the methods of the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect, any such restriction would surely detonate before she could act, killing her before she could reveal anything. But looking at her infatuated expression, it’s also possible he didn’t use a restriction at all, but rather focused on manipulating her heart. Yan Qingchen understands her thoughts deeply. With his honeyed words, he could make her choose not to betray him even if she knew he was problematic…’

Although Li Yan was no expert in romance, he was no naive child either. His centuries of experience led him to these two possibilities. Furthermore, he leaned toward the second one. If that were true, Yan Qingchen was not only incredibly meticulous but also a silver-tongued manipulator.

Someone who was so good at masking themselves… how could he be killed?

As Li Yan walked slowly, his thoughts spun, but his gaze never lingered on them. After a few breaths, his eyes swept over the area near the main doors, where two slender and graceful figures stood. They were dressed in yellow, looking like two brilliant clumps of yellow light. It was the Ming sisters.

They weren’t meditating, simply standing there as if they were transmitting to one another. Occasionally, they would glance at the others in the hall. Their gaze seemed to pass casually over Yan Qingchen. Yan Qingchen, with his sharp senses, seemed to be transmitting to Liu Siyu as well, but whenever the sisters looked his way, he would happen to look up and meet their eyes. Then, he would even offer them a warm smile, like a spring breeze.

‘…Yan Qingchen truly only has Liu Siyu by his side. Everyone else is gone. According to the gray-robed elder, he sacrificed them all. If he truly is from that sect, he is just as the jade slip described—ruthless and shameless!’

Ming Qi saw Yan Qingchen smile at them. Liu Siyu, however, didn’t look at them, appearing to avoid contact with others intentionally. Ming Qi returned the smile perfectly. Ming Yu, on the other hand, kept a stiff face, refusing to give him a good look. Given that both sides knew the truth, this was consistent with her personality.

The sisters had returned over a month ago, while Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu had only arrived half an hour ago. Seeing him again made the sisters feel a chill in their hearts. Yan Qingchen was peerless at masking himself, and they were no match for him in that regard. They had fled the second layer precisely to avoid any trouble. Since returning, they hadn’t left the main hall.

Now that time was almost up, besides the cultivators in the side rooms, there were still a dozen or so missing from the hall. To their surprise, Yan Qingchen had actually returned. The sisters felt a tightening in their chests. The man knew of that secret realm. Seeing them here, he likely guessed they had obtained something. No one knew what he would do next.

If he decided to sink the boat and reveal the secret realm to everyone, they would immediately be targeted by countless eyes. After all, that was a secret realm Huangqi Valley didn’t even know about. Even if there were no treasures, no one would believe them. The sisters were alarmed, but they had already anticipated this possibility over the last few days and had prepared a response.

This was a worst-case scenario. If it came to that, they would also reveal everything about Yan Qingchen. He likely wouldn’t do it unless forced. As long as he wasn’t a fool, he knew the sisters would use the same tactic against him—a strategy for mutual destruction. However, now that Yan Qingchen had escaped, it wouldn’t be easy for them to leave Huangqi Valley without being targeted by him.

‘…So, Sister, what are you worried about? Since we can basically confirm his background, and he doesn’t know we know, we can leave here safely!’ Ming Yu’s cold voice echoed in Ming Qi’s mind.

This man had nearly killed them, and he was likely a disciple of the very sect that had wiped out a branch of their race. This filled Ming Yu with hostility and a deep sense of revulsion, which had only grown since reading Erya’s jade slip. Unquestionably, Yan Qingchen had come here to find his ancient sect.

Ming Qi immediately understood her sister’s meaning. Her heart stirred, and she transmitted back.

“Keep that hostility until we return to Huangqi Valley. Do not show any other expression; don’t let him see anything unusual. Since what the elder said can be verified, according to him, Yan Qingchen might not know the elder was tracking him. He might think the elder was just a resident of the second layer he happened to encounter. That way, Yan Qingchen won’t risk a life-and-death struggle with us…”

As they were talking, Ming Qi paused and looked in a certain direction. She saw Li Yan emerge from behind the statue. She was stunned for a moment. As Li Yan’s gaze swept over the hall and landed on them, he gave them a nod. Ming Qi smiled back. Ming Yu, though she saw Li Yan, ignored him. Her mind had been entirely on Yan Qingchen since seeing him, and she felt an urge to strike.

Li Yan withdrew his gaze and looked up at the massive statue. Ming Qi also looked away, and the sisters resumed their discussion.

On the other side, Yan Qingchen was also transmitting to Liu Siyu. However, he wasn’t talking about the Ming sisters. With his city-like depth of scheming, he didn’t mention encountering the sisters or the gray-robed elder. He understood Liu Siyu’s thoughts perfectly. She still had use as a shield. If used correctly, she might be vital at a critical moment.

After narrowly escaping that secret realm, he had thought it through and released her. When she appeared, he wore a look of pain. Though she was as cold as ice, he explained through his profound grief that the place he wanted to enter wasn’t a secret realm his master couldn’t open. Rather, it was a place that had originally belonged to his sect, later seized by a dominant ancient Daoist temple. His master’s generation had only recently found the clues.

To reclaim his inheritance, he had infiltrated Huangqi Valley. He found the location of that ancient temple. However, because the arrays and restrictions were too powerful, he had to use a blood sacrifice. At the final moment, he had been unwilling to let her die. Thus, he decided to release her even though it risked his mission.

This decision made the passage unstable, so he failed to enter. Instead, he was nearly killed by the recoil, which was why he was so heavily injured.

When Liu Siyu first emerged from the storage space, she was cold and her heart was dead. She knew she had discovered his secret. Though he hadn’t killed her, she expected to be killed or have a restriction placed on her. The latter was a fate worse than death. Furthermore, her cultivation had been sealed before she was stored, so she couldn’t even commit suicide. She only wanted him to kill her quickly. When he first started talking, she only responded with mockery, hoping to provoke him into killing her.