For the longest time, Wu Yan’s soul had inhabited the same Sea of Consciousness as the other Wu Yan.
Just as Wu Yan would be sealed within the Sea of Consciousness when her counterpart took control of the body during their childhood, now that the outer Wu Yan was in control, the inner soul was naturally sealed away.
This seal was not something either of them had intentionally set, but its stability was certainly influenced by the state of their souls.
After using the Soul Governance Art once, the outer Wu Yan’s soul had suffered irreversible damage, causing the seal to lose its stability.
Now, the Astral Wind from the Meteor Wind Iron permeated every corner of the Sea of Consciousness. Under the stimulation of this soul-shaking force, that seal actually loosened for a fleeting moment.
At that exact instant…
*Whoosh!*
A violent wind erupted within the room, and for a second, the entire space turned gloomy.
As Tao’er stared fixedly at Wu Yan, a sight that left her jaw-droppingly stunned unfolded quietly before her eyes.
Behind the white-clad, otherworldly Wu Yan, a phantom-like yet incredibly vivid crimson figure emerged without warning.
Though the vision lasted for only a heartbeat, Tao’er saw it with absolute clarity.
It was a woman with long, scarlet hair, her bare feet barely touching the ground, and she was dressed in deep red robes.
Although her face was identical to Wu Yan’s, she did not share the same refined and detached air.
The red-clothed woman’s hair danced wildly like a waterfall, nearly enveloping Wu Yan completely.
As if sensing Tao’er’s gaze, she tilted her head slightly. Her beautiful Phoenix eyes pierced through space, fixed on Tao’er with an arrogance and wickedness that looked down on all living things as mere straw dogs.
With just one look, a shiver surged from the depths of Tao’er’s soul. Cold sweat poured down her skin as if she had just walked past the Gates of Hell.
The teacup in her hand fell to the floor, the tea soaking the expensive carpet, but Tao’er didn’t even notice.
She remained agape at what she had just seen.
Red and white, demon and immortal, and destruction and protection.
Two completely different temperaments had, in that moment, appeared perfectly within that one slender body.
It was a sight like the sun and moon sharing the sky, or light and shadow born as twins.
In the next second, the illusion vanished, and the red shadow faded away.
At that moment, Wu Yan’s cultivation had actually reached the Mid Golden Core stage. This was something even she had not expected.
She never would have guessed that her breakthrough to the Mid Golden Core stage would happen through such a coincidence.
She slowly withdrew her hand, and the Meteor Wind Iron turned into a streak of green light, diving into her sleeve of its own accord.
Brightness and tranquility returned to the room, and the sunset shining through the window remained blindingly red.
“Thank you, Miss Tao’er,” Wu Yan spoke calmly, as if no strange phenomenon had occurred.
She took out the Storage Bag Xia Lingshuang had given her and placed it gently on the table.
“Name your price.”
By now, Tao’er had finally recovered from the heart-pounding shock. She looked at Wu Yan’s calm face, then looked behind her.
It was empty; there was no longer any trace of red.
That feeling just now was definitely not an illusion!
That pressure, that gaze… not even the Body Integration Stage ancestor that the Tianbao Pavilion relied upon could exert such a thing.
Suddenly, Tao’er thought of the words Wu Yan had spoken —
“People change.”
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the stormy emotions in her heart.
Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Tao’er flashed a sweet smile at Wu Yan. She then extended one fair, slender finger and waved it in front of Wu Yan.
“10,000 High-grade Spiritual Stones? I don’t have that much — “
Before Wu Yan could finish, Tao’er interrupted her.
“One low-grade Spirit Stone~”
“What?”
Wu Yan was stunned, thinking she had misheard. Beside her, the inner Wu Yan was so shocked she nearly fell off the table.
She floated in front of Tao’er and reached out to touch the girl’s forehead. ‘Has this little fox been driven stupid by that wind just now? Selling this thing to you for one low-grade Spirit Stone? Quick, Little Wu Yan, agree to the deal before she regrets it!’
Wu Yan frowned and pushed the Storage Bag back toward Tao’er. “Miss Tao’er, please do not joke. This item is precious. Even for a friendship price, we cannot be so flippant.”
Tao’er pushed the bag back, her face wearing her trademark innocent smile as she shook her head firmly. “I said one low-grade Spirit Stone, and I meant one low-grade Spirit Stone.”
“Setting aside the fact that Sister Wu Yan just saved my life, the mere fact that this Meteor Iron recognized you as its master means you deserve to own it.”
“If you cannot accept it in good conscience, then consider it an investment.”
Tao’er leaned closer to Wu Yan, her eyes gleaming with shrewdness. Her low voice carried a hint of persuasion. “In exchange, you can owe me a favor. If Tao’er or the Tianbao Pavilion encounters any difficulties that are hard to resolve…”
“I will do my utmost to help.”
Hearing this, Wu Yan felt it was a bit strange, but since the other party had put it that way, she stopped being overly cautious.
Since the other party was willing to trust her, she should respond with sincerity.
Wu Yan put away Xia Lingshuang’s Storage Bag, then took a single low-grade Spirit Stone from her own bag and placed it on the table.
‘Hey, Little Wu Yan, I have a feeling that little fox named Tao’er saw me,’ the inner Wu Yan said abruptly as they were leaving.
‘An illusion.’ Until now, other than Ji Xuerou sensing something slightly, Wu Yan had never met anyone who could see or even perceive the existence of her other half.
‘Tsk, don’t believe me then! I want to eat the deluxe set meal from the Eight Immortals Restaurant. Use that old woman’s money to buy it for me right now!’
‘No.’
‘If you don’t, I’ll make a scene! I’ll annoy you to death!’
Ultimately, Wu Yan used some of her loose silver to buy a string of candied hawthorns for Wu Yan.
—
Evening had fallen, and the sky was dim.
A green sword-light cut through the sky, racing toward the Piaomiao Sect.
On the third floor of the Tianbao Pavilion, Tao’er stood by the window with her hands behind her back. After watching the sword-light completely disappear into the clouds, the childishness on her face vanished, replaced by a level of composure and majesty that didn’t match her age.
“Guild Master.”
A worried voice appeared soundlessly from the shadows, and a Shadow Guard wrapped in black clothes emerged.
“That was Meteor Wind Iron from the Void Beyond the Heavens that we paid a massive price to obtain. Even if she truly is some peerless Heaven’s Favorite, is she really worth such a gamble? One low-grade Spirit Stone… if those old fogies in the Council find out — “
“Heh, do you remember that prophecy?”
Tao’er let out a soft laugh, interrupting the Shadow Guard.
She turned and walked to a bookshelf, her fingers sliding across precious jade slips before stopping on an unremarkable gray one.
*Click.*
She pulled the slip out. It didn’t contain any miraculous cultivation techniques; it only held a single passage of text.
Tao’er’s fingertips brushed over the characters on the jade slip, which were already blurred but still contained the charm of the Dao.
“The prophecy? You mean the one from the Ancestor!”
“Exactly. It is the prophecy left by the first Guild Master of the Tianbao Pavilion — my ancestor.”
The first ancestor of the Tianbao Pavilion was a powerhouse in the ancient era who was said to be able to “calculate the Heavenly Secrets.” He had been only half a step away from ascension before passing away, and he had left behind a single sentence.
That sentence had been transcribed and preserved by the Tianbao Pavilion, passed down orally from one Guild Master to the next.
Tao’er looked at the line of words, and the image of the red shadow overlapping with the white-clad Wu Yan flashed in her mind again.
“The Ancestor once said: ‘When chaos approaches and the Heavenly Demon descends, only a special ‘Key’ can break the deadlock.'”
Tao’er murmured to herself, her voice echoing in the empty room with a solemn sense of destiny.
“The sun and moon shining together, light and shadow born as twins.”
In the past, Tao’er had never understood what this referred to.
But today, after seeing Wu Yan, she suddenly understood.
The sun is the surface, and the moon is the interior. Light is the immortal, and shadow is the demon.
“So, such an existence truly exists in this world.”
Tao’er closed the jade slip and returned it to the shelf.
“Wu Yan… Wu Yan…”
She chewed on the name, her eyes reflecting the excitement and fanaticism of someone who had stumbled upon a peerless treasure.
“To exchange a stone that no one could use for an existence that might be the ‘Key’ from the prophecy — isn’t that a bargain?”
“The Tianbao Pavilion will surely survive through the coming chaos. This is my promise as the 108th Guild Master!”
Hearing Tao’er’s words, the Shadow Guard trembled. He lowered his head and knelt on one knee. “The Guild Master is wise!”
Outside the window, all was calm, but beneath the surface, the winds and clouds were surging.
A storm that would soon sweep across the entire world was, just as the prophecy said, beginning at the end of the green duckweed.
And that special Key had already been discovered by the Tianbao Pavilion.