Chapter 47.1

◎I have a “friend” who always likes to stare at you◎

Jing Shuxing was startled and quickly let go of Chi Lu, nervously covering his chest along the direction of her gaze.

His expression darkened immediately as he watched Chi Lu’s face shift from shock to joy. She flipped over, lying on her back, laughing as she reached out to grab the spiritual energy floating in midair.

“I forgot to tell you, I sent those spirit creatures into the adjacent spiritual veins. After they left, of course, your clothes couldn’t stay intact.”

The beautifully wide-sleeved, crimson robe gradually dissipated, turning into tiny firefly-like specks that passed through the cloud boat. Like blooming flower petals, they gently scattered with the light drizzle. Once all the spiritual energy had dispersed, Jing Shuxing tightly pulled on the old clothes he had been wearing underneath, looking shaken with lingering fear.

Chi Lu watched as Jing Shuxing mechanically sat up straight and teased him while lying beside him: “You’re blushing, you’re blushing.”

“Why do you always blush?” She flipped over and lay on her stomach. “You didn’t do anything wrong, nor did you make me angry.”

Jing Shuxing turned his gaze, and the flickering light in his eyes fell on Chi Lu’s face as he lightly tapped her cheek.

Chi Lu suddenly felt that his finger was even colder, and a wave of uneasiness surged in her heart. Just as she was about to worry about Jing Shuxing’s physical condition, a heavy thud sounded from outside the cloud boat.

She immediately straightened her expression and lifted the curtain: “What happened?”

She saw the Dao platform placed on the ground, along with the small jade figure moving on it.

The warm jade, which contained a soul, had merged perfectly with Xu Shiling, growing arms and legs automatically, and changing facial features, becoming a miniature figure that looked exactly like Xu Shiling.

The things she brought out from the spiritual vein, however, could not merge with the warm jade. As soon as the jade figure formed, the Dao platform could no longer be held by Xu Shiling, and it flew out from the warm jade, returning to its normal size.

The little jade figure stood on the Dao platform, noticing Chi Lu’s tense expression, and gave a mischievous smile. The change in expression on the jade made it seem somewhat mysterious and hard to read.

“Why that expression?” Chi Lu found Xu Shiling’s appearance rather amusing.

The little jade figure spoke in a soft, lilting tone: “Young Sect Leader, your face is so red. Could it be that I interrupted you at an exciting moment?”

Chi Lu’s breath hitched, and she reached out to touch her cheek, only to realize that not only were Jing Shuxing’s hands colder, but her fingertips were unexpectedly cool as well.

She covered her cheeks and, as a sudden thought crossed her mind, shyly turned her gaze back to Jing Shuxing.

He was smiling at her.

Xu Shiling grabbed Chi Lu’s fingers, pulling them forcefully toward the Dao platform: “You promised to help me find someone. You can’t go back on your word.”

“Of course, I won’t break my promise.” Chi Lu sat on the jade boat, looking around. “But are you sure you want to perform the ritual here?”

After the spiritual vein was torn open, the place where they landed was far from ideal for focusing and casting spells.

The sky was pitch dark, with thick, oppressive clouds blocking out the sun. All around them, water flowed softly, branching off in various directions. Their position seemed to be on a central island, and looking out toward the shore, there was not a soul in sight for dozens of miles.

Xu Shiling decisively said, “Right here, I’ll trouble the Young Sect Leader.”

Chi Lu didn’t refuse. She found Jing Luoyun and was about to walk toward him. Before she could stand up, Jing Shuxing interrupted her.

“No need to find him. I’ll handle it.”

He calmly sliced open his palm and let the blood drip onto the Dao platform. “No need to expend effort gathering spiritual energy. Blood from a close relative will work just as well.”

Xu Shiling, frightened, stepped back to avoid the jade figure being stained by the blood. “How… how can you guarantee that?”

Jing Shuxing didn’t answer her. He lifted his gaze slightly, and his eyes pierced through the thick layers of clouds. He deliberately turned his face away, ensuring Chi Lu couldn’t see his expression.

In his eyes, it seemed as though a single character was etched out, as if carved by a blade.

Jing Shuxing decisively closed his eyes, and only after the scene before him disappeared did he open them again.

At the same time, Chi Lu’s voice sounded: “Young lady Xu, please rest assured. Blood from a close relative can indeed help find someone. The closer the relationship, the higher the probability of locating them.”

But Fengyue City had many people with the surname Jing. How could Jing Shuxing know that Jing Cheng was his close relative? If this were true, could there be some connection between Jing Cheng and Jing Yi?

Jing Shuxing placed one hand on the edge of the Dao platform while the other hovered in midair, allowing the blood to drip into the formation on the platform, merging with Chi Lu’s spiritual energy.

Ever since his body first began to deteriorate, his consciousness had felt as though it was being constantly stirred, with strange, inexplicable memories flashing into his mind.

He sorted through them one by one. The more memories that surfaced, the clearer it became to Jing Shuxing that they weren’t accidentally fused with him; they seemed as if they had been deeply buried in his consciousness since birth.

When his lifespan reaches its end and his form and spirit are annihilated for the first time, horrifying scenes will appear in Jing Shuxing’s mind, showing him dreadful visions. These scenes parallel the abilities granted to him by the Heavenly Dao, coming at him from all directions, yet trying to drag him back into hell.

Chi Lu focused intently on controlling her spiritual energy.

Her talent far exceeded that of ordinary people. As she cast the spell, the celestial energy around her swirled, making Xu Shiling, who had long used the Dao platform, sigh in admiration.

The spiritual energy in Chi Lu’s hands churned, and in no time, it shot out from her palms like a broken string of pearls, controlled by fine silver threads. Much of the energy dropped directly to the ground, turning into blood.

One last remaining bead of spiritual energy, smooth like a pearl, spun in the air before transforming into a tail-flicking fish. It swam away into the distance, its tail swaying.

Chi Lu exclaimed with delight, “We’ve found it!”

Xu Shiling also jumped up from the Dao platform, stomping her feet repeatedly. “Thank you, Young Sect Leader! I’ve finally found him.”

Jing Shuxing took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision. “I know where this is.”

After tearing a strip of cloth from his clothes and quickly bandaging his wound, Jing Shuxing softly murmured, “This is the territory of the Tian Shou Pavilion.”

“What pavilion?” Xu Shiling was stunned and hurriedly asked Chi Lu, “Young Sect Leader, what is that place? Is Tian Shou Pavilion on good terms with Linghua Sect?”

Chi Lu furrowed her delicate brows, thinking deeply for a long while before shaking her head. “I’ve never heard of that name either.”

“It’s normal that you haven’t heard of it,” Jing Shuxing said, clenching his fists tightly. With each word he spoke, memories that didn’t belong to him would spring forth in his mind.

“Tian Shou Pavilion has long become a ruin. I also… learned of its name while traveling, from an ancient text. Tian Shou Pavilion was located at the center of its territory, surrounded by water on all sides. The residents of the territory were infused with the essence of spiritual herbs at birth, blessed by heavenly spirits and enjoying abundant fortune.”

“The establishment of Tian Shou Pavilion was encircled by spiritual energy, making it the best… Immortal Paradise for cultivation.”

Jing Shuxing spoke slowly, and as he recited the last three words, a chilling light flickered in his eyes.

The information he had about Tian Shou Pavilion was pieced together solely from those foreign memories, but the term “Immortal Paradise” was all too familiar to him.

Familiar to the point that merely connecting those three words to Tian Shou Pavilion filled him with dread.

Chi Lu also took note of this. “Immortal Paradise? I recall that the current Immortal Paradise clearly refers to Linghua Sect and Fengyue City, and it hasn’t changed for hundreds of years.”

She grasped the flying fish in midair, her gaze sweeping across the surroundings. The current ruins were desolate, with nothing left but broken walls and remnants. The pitch-black, lightless underground river flowed gently onward, never stopping, its destination unknown.

“Immortal Paradise…” she muttered to herself, a chill inexplicably rising from deep within her bones.

Looking at the scene before her, where was any trace of an Immortal Paradise?

If Linghua Sect were to become like this, Chi Lu felt certain that she would lose her mind.

At that moment, the long-silent system suddenly flashed with brilliance. A translucent light screen popped up, and once again, Chi Lu saw the familiar text.

[Detected that the host has left Fengyue City. As a reward for completing the mission, the map of the cultivation world is now unlocked for the host.]