The boat rolled through the clouds like an impatient ice dragon, churning white waves into pieces.
Chu Xuan was curled up in a quiet room at the stern, sitting cross-legged on a cold jade cushion - kindly provided by Ling Qingxue, with its own frosty mist effect, sitting on it, his bottom was cold at first and then hot, refreshing and invigorating, like licking an iron railing in winter.
On the table lay a jade box with its lid open, and the thousand-year-old ice clover lay quietly on the broken ice, its leaf veins shining with a moon-blue glow, like ripples of frozen waves.
"Start?" Chu Xuan asked in a low voice.
In his recognition sea, Ling Qingxue's voice came along with the sound of the snow falling, "Begin. Remember the steps: first turn the grass into liquid, then draw the liquid into the soul, and finally use the Dao contract as a bridge to resonate the field of vision. If you go in the wrong order, your head will freeze."
Su Mei 'er leaned against the doorframe, crossed her arms to watch the spectacle. "Don't worry. If you freeze your brain, I'll make it into a pill and make sure it's not wasted."
Chu Xuan rolled his eyes, made a gesture with his hands, and a wisp of primordial qi rose from his dantian, circling around the ice clover.
The grass leaves were drawn and shattered into specks of light, condensing into a drop of silver-blue liquid that hung in front of his brow and swirled around.
"Come in." He drank lightly.
The droplet sank into the forehead in an instant, like an ice ball rolling into the sea of consciousness, and wherever it passed, the soul felt cool.
In the next breath, the mark of the covenant lit up, and the patterns of ice blue and purple fire interwove and wandered on the back of his hand, and finally "pop" closed, turning into a token the size of a small fingernail - the key to shared vision.
Buzz --
With a sudden flash of vision, another scene appeared before Chu Xuan's eyes:
-- Ling Qingxue's perspective --
Quiet room, desk, snow-colored candlestick.
She was drawing 符箓, her pen tip dipped in gold sand, which fell on the talisman paper as light as snow.
With each stroke, the flame of the lamp trembled as if frozen.
The runes gradually formed, ancient and elaborate, like a coiled ice dragon.
Chu Xuan was curious and was about to take a closer look when he heard her muttering in a low voice: "The Ten Thousand Demons Cave is full of evil energy, his fire resistance... Not enough to look at."
Saying this, she frowned slightly and pulled out another blank sheet of talisman paper to continue writing. This time, the pen was flowing like a snake, adding two layers of assistance to 符箓 : "keeping warm" and "calming the mind".
Chu Xuan made a "heh" in his heart: So the Ice Mountain Immortal Lord also secretly gives people special treatment?
The scene then shifts --
Back mountain forbidden area, wind and snow howling.
Ling Qingxue stood side by side with the sect master Shen Wuya, and before them was a stone gate locked by cold iron, with incomplete talismans on the gate, but faintly revealing an ancient call.
Shen Wuya's voice was deep: "The forbidden ruins lit up again last night, and the runes were in sync with Chu Xuan's Dao."
Ling Qingxue turned her eyes, "you mean --"
"Cross-camp Daoist couple, not the first case." Shen Wuya raised his hand, and the cold iron lock broke with a sound. "There might be something they left behind inside."
The wind and snow rushed in, making Ling Qingxue's sleeves flutter. A rare hesitation flashed in her eyes. "If that's the case, tell him?"
Shen Wuya shook his head. "Don't give hope for now. Look again. If it's just a trap, don't push him into the abyss."
Hearing this, Chu Xuan's heart gave a jolt, his vision shook violently, as if pushed by an invisible hand, and he instantly returned to his quiet room.
He opened his eyes. The loose hair on his forehead was soaked with cold sweat, but his heart was beating faster than ever before
Ruins of the cross-faction Daoist couple?
Runes in sync with him?
Abyss, or answer?
"Saw it?" Ling Qingxue's voice rang out in Shihai, with a rare bit of unease, "Don't misunderstand, I'm just... "Draw a few more talismans at the same time."
Chu Xuan curled up the corner of his mouth, deliberately teasing her, "Oh? That 'calming' layer, is it afraid I can't calm my mind?
There was a moment of silence on the other side, and then the snow fog exploded, and a small hand made of ice chips slapped him on the back of the head with a "pop". "Poor again, I'll draw a 'silence' charm for you next time."
Su Mei 'er watched with a smile, "Oh, Little Snow sister is shy, it's rare, rare."
Ling Qingxue snorted coldly, the shadow turned into snow mist and dissipated, leaving a sentence: "The shared view is stable. It will close itself in a moment. Don't peek at what shouldn't be seen."
Chu Xuan rubbed the back of his head with a smile in his eyes and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, I'll only look at what I should look at."
He raised his head, his gaze passing through the small window of the quiet room and falling on the distant sea of clouds --
There, the wind and snow were about to come, but they couldn't hide the burning light in the young man's eyes.
Ruins of the cross-camp Daoist couple?
He Chu Xuan, go and settle.
Outside the silence, the flying boat happened to pass by a cloud of thunderstorms.
Purple lightning struck the shield, and with a "rumble", the boat swayed slightly. Chu Xuan, however, was as steady as a rock, his fingertips rubbing the newly frozen shared symbol, his mind pounding: His vision had been opened, the next step was to hold the "initiative" firmly, not always be kicked off by Ling Qingxue unilaterally.
Su Meier leaned over, rested her chin on his shoulder, and exuded a sweet breath. "Little Xuanzi, have you learned to peek at the girl's family's thoughts?" "
Chu Xuan turned his head and said solemnly, "I only read official business."
"TSK, does official business also include someone secretly drawing a talisman to keep you warm?" Su Mei 'er laughed like a fox who had stolen a chicken, "Shall I teach you 'reverse peeping'? Make sure that the next time she secretly writes your name, you'll immediately come back with a funny face."
"Never mind." Chu Xuan raised his hand, the chaotic air in his palm condensed into a small light ball. "I'll try to extend my field of vision first."
He took a deep breath, and the light ball sank into his brow - the Daoist covenant pattern lit up instantly, and another scene appeared before his eyes again:
-- Ling Qingxue's perspective · Forbidden Stone Chamber --
The stone door was open and the wind and snow were pouring in.
Shen Wuya was in the front, holding a bronze lamp whose light was icy blue, illuminating the ancient murals on the four walls in detail.
In the mural, a man and a woman stand side by side, the man in a green robe carrying a sword and the woman in a white robe as white as snow, their palms facing each other, with a talisman in the middle - exactly the same as the Dao Qi on the back of Chu Xuan's hand.
Ling Qingxue touched the mural with her fingertips, her voice so low that it was almost inaudible: "Really... "Cross-camp Daoist couple."
She turned her head and looked at Shen Wuya. "If their descendants knew that their ancestors had sealed the Taotie together, but were hunted down by their descendants, would they be heartbroken?"
Shen Wuya sighed, "History is written by the victors. They sealed the Taotie back then and were labeled as' rebellious' because they touched the cake of the old order."
When he said this, he turned back and looked deeply at Ling Qingxue, "You and Chu Xuan, if you are going this way, you must be prepared to be condemned by everyone."
Ling Qingxue lowered his eyes, his snow sleeves covering half a palm, his knuckles slightly pale, "Since I have made a pact with him, I have no intention of retreating."
At this point, the scene suddenly shook as if disturbed by the wind and snow, and then darkened - the time limit for sharing was up.
Chu Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, his chest rose and fell, and his knuckles turned pale from straining.
Abyss?
No, that's the path our forefathers took.
He, Chu Xuan, just keeps going, keeps fighting, keeps rewriting the word "rebellion" as "saving the world".
Su Meier, seeing his unusual expression, stopped teasing and raised her hand to rub his hair. "Don't keep it to yourself. Just speak."
Chu Xuan exhaled a foul breath, raised his eyes and laughed unrestrainedly, "I want to go to the forbidden area and see the murals."
"Then I'll go." Su Mei 'er raised her eyebrows. "I'll go with you. Xiaoxue guards the door. Who dares to stop?"
He nodded, his palm turned, the shared talisman turned into ice-blue light, without the mark of the Dao deed.
Though the view was severed, the lake of the heart was burning --
It was the fire kindled by our forefathers, and now he takes it over.
The boat pierces through the thunderstorm, with the sun shining brightly ahead.
The young man stood at the bow of the boat, his green robe fluttering, his back like a sword, and whispered --
"Seniors, I remember the road."
"Next, look at me."