fanmtl Chapter 431: Would You Be Embarrassed?
Chapter 431: Would You Be Embarrassed?
Though Ye Tianling could vaguely make out the outline of her former features, the change was simply unimaginable.
The Xia Xinyan of the past had already been quite beautiful, but comparing her then to her now was like comparing an ugly duckling to a swan.
’Another ordinary Candidate Saintess has risen up, becoming a Goddess in a single stroke! Just as I thought. There was a good reason she could fight me on even terms back then!’
Ye Tianling was inwardly shaken.
"Yes, it’s me. Tianling Divine Son, it’s truly... unimaginable. It’s been a long time. It feels like an entire age has passed."
A peculiar light flickered in Xia Xinyan’s beautiful eyes, followed by a sense of wistful melancholy.
At the same time, she unhesitatingly gathered the wisp of Dao Fire from between her brows. Even though it was on the verge of being fully refined, she still chose to give it up.
In doing so, she suffered a slight backlash as she severed her connection to the Dao Fire.
"Given our past history, I’ll make an exception for you."
Ye Tianling gave Xia Xinyan a deep look. She still possessed a terrifying Blood Evil aura, but it was extremely well-contained.
So much so that it felt as if a peerless Female Immortal from primordial times slumbered within her. Ye Tianling instinctively felt that she was likely even more fearsome than Kong Lindao.
"It’s only right. Tianling Daoist Brother, you could say we became friends through fighting. Running into you here in this New World, I actually feel a little thrill of excitement. It feels like so much has changed, yet it’s also like meeting an old friend in a foreign land."
Xia Xinyan’s beautiful eyes curved into a smile, and her tone was very gentle.
Although she didn’t act overly familiar, her words were still very comforting.
"Yes, I feel the same. I just never thought you would have already grown to this level. In the future clash of this era, the struggle between Young Venerables, you will certainly be one of them. I suppose that makes you a formidable rival of mine from now on."
Ye Tianling wasn’t flattering her; he was merely stating a fact.
Although to others, it might have sounded like he was trying to curry favor.
Xia Xinyan was visibly moved, a flicker of surprise in her beautiful eyes. "Your judgment is as sharp as ever. Brother Tianling, let’s exchange Soul Marks. I plan to venture into the Ten Thousand Beasts Demon Cave, but I haven’t found a suitable partner. I’d like to invite you to go with me. Are you interested?"
Ye Tianling’s heart stirred. "An invitation from a Goddess? How could I not be interested?"
As he spoke, he looked at Xia Xinyan with some confusion—he didn’t know how to perform this technique of exchanging Soul Marks.
Xia Xinyan, with her sharp intuition, immediately took the initiative. She gathered a Soul Mark, imprinted it with a Soul Rune, then formed a Sealing Technique, causing it to materialize.
It looked like a crystal-clear, fingernail-sized sphere of Soul, existing independently.
"This is my Soul Mark. Once we’ve exchanged them, we can communicate on a spiritual level—as long as we aren’t separated by an extreme distance, it will work just fine."
Xia Xinyan explained.
"I see."
Ye Tianling condensed one as well, forming a certain spiritual connection with Xia Xinyan.
"This is a method I comprehended after receiving an Origin Soul Refining reward for achieving a certain enlightenment in the Celestial Harmony Dao. In fact, this method will eventually be made common by the Celestial Dao. When that time comes, whether in the Heaven-Reaching Tower or other special places, it will allow for much closer connections between Cultivators..."
Xia Xinyan explained the relevant details to Ye Tianling.
Afterward, another Saintess walked over and similarly offered up her Dao Fire.
Since Xia Xinyan insisted on handing over her Dao Fire, Ye Tianling didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted both hers and the other Saintess’s.
The remaining four Cultivators also handed over their Dao Fires one by one.
Three of the Saint Childs were of average strength—to Ye Tianling, at least, they were nothing special.
However, the last Cultivator, who on the surface was an Emperor Blood Saint Son, was someone whose foundation Ye Tianling judged to be quite impressive. He was likely even a cut above Wu Yunxiao.
This person was named Yan Hen. He was twenty years old and cultivated the ’Tyrant Saber Killing Dao.’ He was cold and a man of few words.
Upon his arrival, he gave a slight fist-and-palm salute, directly condensed his Dao Fire and handed it over, then bowed deeply before turning to leave.
From start to finish, he showed no sign of dissatisfaction, as if this were a perfectly ordinary matter.
Ye Tianling used his Soul Mirror Talent to focus on this man. Seeing no dissatisfaction, he retracted the lock his powerful Void Soul had on him.
"Thank you, Tianling Divine Son, for sparing my life."
As if sensing something, Yan Hen bowed deeply once more, a hint of gratitude in his eyes.
"Oh? You knew I was thinking of killing you?"
Ye Tianling’s Soul Power was very special. When an ordinary person was locked onto by his Soul, they would be completely unable to perceive it as long as Ye Tianling revealed no killing intent.
"Tianling Divine Son possesses the peerless Sword Venerate Dominating Body and cultivates a domineering and tyrannical path. I, on the other hand, am quiet and taciturn, which can easily lead to misunderstandings."
Yan Hen fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.
For someone as sparing with his words as he was, offering an explanation was no small feat.
"Mm, it’s fine. I only want the Dao Fire, not your lives."
Ye Tianling nodded slightly, his opinion of Yan Hen rising.
Yan Hen nodded, then finally seemed to let out a breath of relief before retreating into the distance.
The other Cultivators also scattered at this time.
As for Mo Yuqian and her group, they didn’t dare to linger any longer and quickly departed along with the other Cultivators.
It was only then that Gleyun and his group flew over.
"Divine Lady Xinyan."
Upon seeing Xia Xinyan, Xia Xinyue bowed in greeting, her demeanor quite familiar.
"Xinyue, it’s been a very long time. Are you, Xinqin, and Xin Ning all doing well?"
The wisps of Blood Evil aura deep within Xia Xinyan’s eyes completely receded as she spoke in a soft voice.
"We are. This time, Xinqin and Xin Ning didn’t enter the Heaven-Reaching Tower, but they’re waiting outside. If they knew that you, Divine Lady Xinyan, have also awakened and returned from the era of the ancient Venerables, they would be absolutely thrilled and ecstatic."
Xia Xinyue’s voice trembled slightly, her beautiful eyes misty with excitement.
"I came here because of the matter concerning Xia Fanqian and the other two.
Xia Fanqian and Xia Fansong are of little consequence, but Xia Qiuhe is dead. His Master and my Master have some history, so I was asked to come and see."
Xia Xinyan gave Ye Tianling a helpless look and said, "Who would have known he would fall at the hands of the Tianling Divine Son. I will explain this matter clearly when I return. Tianling Divine Son, please don’t take it to heart."
As she spoke, she actually took the initiative to comfort Ye Tianling.
Ye Tianling couldn’t help but find this a little strange.
"I’m the one who killed your people. I should be the one feeling awkward."
Ye Tianling said with a slight smile.
"Would you feel awkward?"
Xia Xinyan looked at Ye Tianling quietly.
"Er—you’re right, I wouldn’t."
Ye Tianling gave an awkward laugh.
"It’s fine. A Young Venerable should have the dignity of a Young Venerable. Even the Celestial Dao is helpless against you, so what does a mere Xia Qiuhe count for?"
When Xia Xinyan mentioned Xia Qiuhe, her tone was very cold—clearly, she felt no attachment to Xia Qiuhe and his group either.