Chapter 58 (1/2)

It took Xiao Chen a long time before he sensed that he had fallen to the ground. He was surprised to find himself unscathed, only a little weak due to the great loss of his True Energy. Recalling the tense moments earlier, he recalled that the girl seemed to have broken the formation. He turned his head and finally got a clear look at the girl’s appearance.

Her eyebrows resembled the willows in March and her pupils were like pools of limpid autumn waters. Tied around her waist was a light green ribbon with two tiny golden bells. She looked just like the incarnation of an ancient immortal.

For a time, Xiao Chen couldn’t snap out of his senses. He muttered, “Far away on the hill of Gu Ye there dwelt a deity-like person whose flesh and skin are as smooth as ice and as white as snow; her manner is elegant and delicate as that of a virgin; she doesn’t eat any of the five grains…”

The girl looked at him with a big pair of eyes. “Elder Brother, what are you talking about? My name is Murong Xian’er. What about you?”

“Murong Xian’er… What a beautiful name.” Xiao Chen was still somewhat spellbound.

“Hehe. Xian’er thinks it’s beautiful as well. Unfortunately, I can’t remember who gave me the name. Oh right! Elder Brother, you haven’t told me your name.”

Only then did Xiao Chen recovered his senses. He cupped his hands in greeting. “Please apologize for my lack of manners. I’m Xiao Chen of the Mystic Cyan Sect. Nice to meet you, Miss Murong. Thank you so much for your help earlier…”

The girl’s big eyes blinked. She interrupted him to say, “Have you met me before? When? Where?”

Xiao Chen was stunned. This girl in front of him appeared very naive. “Why did you appear in this forest alone, Miss? Where are your parents?”

Murong Xian’er blinked. “Parents? Who are ‘parents’?”

Xiao Chen couldn’t help feeling dumbstruck. Could it be that she didn’t even know who her parents were even after being born for so long? He continued to ask, “Where is your home?”

“Home?” Murong Xian’er mulled over it as she rubbed her chin. She then pointed to the white clouds in the sky. “There.”

Xiao Chen shook his head with a smiled. She was indeed an innocent little girl. However, she was able to break open the prohibitive formation earlier…

“Hehe. Brother Xiao Chen, I’ll take you to the bottom. There are many deers and bunnies down there.” Murong Xian’er happily pulled him by the hand down a path. Tall grasses lined both sides of the path. It seemed that this path was formed after getting trampled.

“Wait a moment, Miss. Where are you taking me?”

“Hehe! Brother Xiao Chen, you’ll find out later.”

Half an hour later, Xiao Chen came to a bluish-green valley blanketed in flowers. Though it was late autumn in October, it seemed like it was March in the Human World. The flowers bloomed as brightly as if they were embroidery on brocades and the grass grew long and wild.

There were many fruit trees near him that he had never seen before. There were also many strange fruits of bright red and orange on the trees. Butterflies flitted around the flowers that grew in abundance under the trees.

In the distance, he saw a bluish-green lake that seemed to be filled with many ambers as well as a herd of multi-colored deers drinking water beside it. This place was actually a paradise.

This wasn’t a superficial paradise but a real one. Xiao Chen could tell from the rich Spiritual Qi here. The Spiritual Qi existed in such abundance that it could even rival the Immortal Century from thousands of years ago. Compared to this place, the Spiritual Qi of Lingtai Mountain was basically negligible.

“Hehe! Brother Xiao Chen, don’t you think this place is beautiful?”

Xiao Chen nodded woodenly. “It’s beautiful…”

He couldn’t have expected that such a place would exist under Lingtai Mountain. It was surrounded by mountains and was enveloped in a prohibitive formation. It seemed that no one was allowed in while preventing the leaking of its Spiritual Qi. But why would there be such abundant Spiritual Qi here?

“Then can you not leave, Brother Xiao Chen? Xian’er lives here alone. No one talks to me…”

Xiao Chen looked at her in a daze, surprised that she actually lived alone. This was simply unbelievable.

Murong Xian’er giggled as she whispered into his ear. “You’re the only one I’m telling this to, Brother Xiao Chen. There are people who want to capture me but they won’t be able to find me once I run here. Hehe! Don’t you think Xian’er is smart?”

Xiao Chen smiled. “Yes, you are…” He wondered about the identity of this girl.

“Then why don’t I stay behind and accompany you from now on? That way, you don’t have to be afraid when bad people come…”

Xiao Chen looked at the strange scenery around him and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Xian’er. I can only stay here for three months. I’ll have to leave after three months…”

Though he wanted to stay in a place with such abundance Spiritual Qi for as long as he could and break into the Nascent Soul Realm, it was impossible. There were many things waiting for him to do out there. Moreover, he would be battling Mo Yu three months later. He must enter the Violet Manor.

In addition, he had a feeling that a catastrophe was awaiting the Three Pure Sect. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Lil Ruo and the others out there.

“Sob… Xian’er has been waiting for a long time. You just came here but are you leaving already, Brother Xiao Chen…”

Murong Xian’er’s tears filled her eyes as she refused to let go of his arm. Xiao Chen couldn’t help feeling heartache. Why? Why would she be so attached to him when they had just met for the first time?

And why would he have special feelings for her? These weren’t feelings between a man and a woman. Rather, it was as if they had known each other thousands of years ago.

Time flew so quickly that it felt as if all it took for three months to pass was the snapping of one’s fingers. There was neither spring, summer, autumn, nor winter in the Jade Valley. The flowers never wilted in here but outside, it was already snowing.

In the Moon-watch Pavilion, a white-clothed woman stood with her hands clasped behind her back as she stared in the direction of the back mountain, where Xiao Chen had flown down from on his flying sword.

The sound of someone stepping on snow suddenly came from behind her. It was Li Muxue. “Rest assured, Third Elder. He’ll definitely come back.”

In the past three months, the Three Pure Sect had sent many disciples to search for Xiao Chen. However, it was as if he had vanished into thin air. Most of the rumors were that he accidentally stepped into a prohibitive formation and had his body and soul destroyed.