“Do you know why there were so many Luoxin trees in the forest, and why Senior Lin Yan extracted aura from cultivators who entered the forest?” Meng Qi asked.
Li Che shook his head.
“Apparently, devil cultivators have a method to bring the dead back to life by combining Luoxin leaves and a special array.”
“Ah!!!” Li Che was shocked. He didn’t know what to say. No one could revive the dead—not even a Heaven Realm medical cultivator at the peak of the Great Ascension stage. This wasn’t just defying the natural order; it was…
“Before Senior Lin Yan reached the end of her life, she obtained the array from devil cultivators. A fragment of her soul stayed in the Starfallen Sea for hundreds of years, planting Luoxin trees and collecting aura from the lost cultivators who strayed into the forest, all to revive her Dao companion,” Meng Qi said slowly.
“But… but…” Li Che stopped, looking at Meng Qi in disbelief, “But this is impossible!”
“What is possible? What is impossible?” Meng Qi’s lips suddenly curled into a faint, meaningful smile.
“Death means death,” Li Che scratched his head, “There is no such thing as resurrection…”
Meng Qi’s hand clenched slightly.
“Did Senior Lin Yan succeed?” Li Che asked.
“No,” Meng Qi shook her head, her clenched hand slowly relaxed, “she gave up.”
“Why?” Li Che suddenly realized, “Gave up?” Not failed, but gave up?!
“Because Senior Lin Yan was just a remnant soul. If she were at her peak, with her Great Ascension cultivation, it might have been possible. By now, the best she could achieve was to revive her Dao companion as a puppet, a living dead within the maze of Luoxin trees.”
“It might have been possible…” Li Che’s lips trembled as he repeated Meng Qi’s words in disbelief. He suddenly understood why Meng Qi seemed different. After leaving the Starfallen Sea, Meng Qi had become more resolute, her actions and words lacking the previous air of indifference.
“So…” Li Che murmured, “it’s truly possible? To bring the dead back to life…”
“Yes,” Meng Qi’s voice was slightly hoarse, “If Senior Lin Yan had retained her Great Ascension cultivation, she could have used the world as an array and all her cultivation to exchange for a chance to revive her beloved.”
“And then?” Li Che asked.
“Exchange life for life.” Meng Qi said slowly, almost word by word.
Li Che stood dazed, looking at Meng Qi. Both had stopped walking. He wasn’t sure why Meng Qi suddenly started telling him these things—since they left the Starfallen Sea, she had never mentioned what happened back then.
“Meng Qiqi,” he called her softly. The blue-robed girl stood before him, her gaze still clear and resolute, but the rim of her eyes slightly reddened. Not only were her eyes red, but even the tip of her nose had turned a bit red.
“Meng Qiqi,” Li Che called again.
“So,” Meng Qi looked at Li Che, “we must get out of here,” she said firmly. Her gaze shifted to the seemingly endless sky and vast plain, “We must break through this Seven Emotions Array and reach the peak of Ten Absolutes Mountain. I can do it, and so can you.”
“Li Che, help me,” Meng Qi stared straight into his eyes.
“…Okay,” Li Che responded, still in a daze.
Meng Qi closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was once again the calm and composed Meng Qi, and no longer looked like she was about to cry. It was as if he had seen it wrong just now.
“I have some artifacts here.” Meng Qi reached into her storage pouch, picked three or four items they might need, and handed them to Li Che. She also gave him some spirit stones and reminded, “At critical moments, don’t hesitate to use them. I have more here.”
“…Okay,” Li Che accepted the artifacts he had never seen before.
“Let’s go,” Meng Qi said.
“Yeah,” Li Che nodded. He suddenly realized that the woman’s voice, although still talking in his ear, was growing more distant and quieter—by now, he could barely make out what she was saying.
“I guess each level of the Seven Emotions Array will focus on one emotion. The woman speaking to me just now was trying to instill fear in me,” Meng Qi said.
“…but why aren’t you look afraid?” Li Che recalled how every word from that woman had struck his deepest fears, causing him immense pain.
“No, I am afraid too,” Meng Qi said.
Li Che pursed his lips, thinking she was trying to comfort him.
“Really,” Meng Qi added.
“Uh-huh,” Li Che nodded, not dwelling on it too much. Though he was usually laid-back, recalling his embarrassing behavior just now caused him to blush momentarily.
“The Seven Emotions Flowers…” Li Che looked up slightly at the sky, trying to recall as much as possible, “According to what you said, the array amplifies the effects of medicinal properties. How do we break through this level?” Arrays were outside his expertise, so he simply made some random guesses, “Do we need to find some sort of array core and destroy it?”
“It might not be that simple,” Meng Qi said. “Arrays generally require aura to maintain, like the defense array at the Earthly Camp. You have seen that one, right? They need multiple cultivators to continuously input aura to function.”
“Like how you use spirit stones, is it the same?”
“Yes,” Meng Qi nodded.
“The person just now wanted to instill fear in us, and now that we are no longer afraid, does that mean we just have to wait for the spiritual aura to deplete to pass the test?”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” Meng Qi smiled. “This is inside the Ten Absolutes Mountain. Although we don’t know how, the spiritual aura here is probably abundant.” She pointed to the ground, “To grow so many rare spiritual plants, the aura must be plentiful.”
“That’s true,” Li Che nodded.
“Maybe…” Meng Qi pondered for a moment, “We can try something.”
“Try what?” Li Che was puzzled.
“Excuse me, Senior,” Meng Qi suddenly looked ahead and asked, “Are you still there?”
“Who are you talking to?” Li Che was startled and quickly looked around.
“Senior?” Meng Qi called again, “The senior who spoke earlier, are you still there?”
“…” After being stunned for a moment, Li Che suddenly realized, “Are you talking to the voice who was instigating us?”
“Yes,” Meng Qi nodded.
“But she…” Li Che was confused. That person had been ruthlessly stabbing at his deepest fears, making him feel uneasy even now. “Even if she’s still here, she wouldn’t help us, right?”
“We are still inside the Ten Absolutes Mountain,” Meng Qi said. “Since the mountain provides us with tests, these seniors are likely similar to Senior Lin Yan in the Apricot Forest barrier. They are here to test us, not to make things difficult for us on purpose.”
“…” Li Che was still skeptical.
Suddenly, there was a flash, and the next moment, a large boulder appeared out of nowhere. A girl in red sat sideways on the boulder, her white feet swinging freely, while her braided black hair draped over her shoulders. She raised her head slightly, revealing a delicate chin and a graceful curve of her fair neck. Her high, elegant nose and finely shaped eyebrows complemented her flawless skin, which seemed to glow under the gentle touch of the sunlight.
From her side profile alone, her beauty was already captivating. Even someone as upright as Li Che couldn’t help but be stunned. But he quickly looked away, not daring to stare for too long. Based on her appearance, the girl seemed younger than both Meng Qi and Sikong Xing, but Li Che knew that despite her youthful look, she was undoubtedly one of the ancient figures who presided over the trials in this Ten Absolutes Mountain.
“Greetings, Senior.” Meng Qi bowed respectfully.
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