Chapter 0215: Yan Ji’s Thoughts
Yan Ji was sitting near to a small lake with a dull expression on her face, this small lake in the endlessly expanding black sands was the only place with water, at the same time it was rather a lake filled with stagnant water.
It was because this lake was created artificially. This lake’s water was condensed out of the magic techniques of everyone present here.
This place was the only inhabited place in all the surrounding black sands, moreover there were more than 30 cultivators living here. Some of them would die every year, but there would always be new cultivators coming in here.
This place, like all the other places, did not have any Spiritual Qi, moreover there was not even a single shred of life anywhere around them which was more than enough to make a person go crazy. If they did not talk to each other from time to time, then no one in such unusual conditions would be able to survive for even a decade let alone hundreds of years.
Some of the cultivators that fell into the Blood River managed to gather together and established a small colony of sorts at this place. Here they did not have to resist monstrous beasts, and as such other than living together, talking to each other, they would be able to at least provide a spiritual sustenance to each other.
Because all these cultivators lived together, they were still able to maintain their sanity. They knew that unless someone completely deduced this Array Formation, there was simply no way to come out of this hellhole. So all of them eventually chose to spend the rest of their lives here. At least it was much better than their mind falling into depravity.
Yan Ji was quite lucky, she and Ning Cheng had entered this place almost at the same time. She was lucky in that, in less than six months’ time, she was able to find this place, moreover there was also a Senior Apprentice Sister from her Blue Cloud Academy here. It allowed her to quickly integrate into this small circle, and came to understand this small group of still sane people was actually established by a single person.
“Junior Apprentice Sister Ji, falling into the Blood River yet still being able to find this place, you can be considered quite lucky. Don’t think about it, once a genius comes down here one day, then they would be able to open this Array Formation. We can then all go out. You are already at the pinnacle of the Profound Congealing Realm, just think of a way to try and advance to the Profound Core Realm for the time being. Then just slowly wait here. If at the time our life spans are nearing its end, and we still are unable to get out, then at least we still lived our lives here together.” A woman wearing a grey sarong arrived at the side of Yan Ji, as she sat down beside her and slowly tried to persuade her.
She was Senior Apprentice Sister Xiang Zhilan from the same Academy as her that Yan Ji had met in this place, she had fell to this place over a century ago, moreover her cultivation had also not risen at all, when she had arrived she was at Profound Core 2nd Level, and even now, after more than a century, she was still at the Profound Core 2nd Level.
“Senior Apprentice Sister Lan, when you fell down here, did you regret trying to collect the Blood River Red Lotus?” Yan Ji suddenly asked.
Xiang Zhilan dialled back her hair a bit, looking at the pool of stagnant water in front of her, she spoke in a calm tone, “To say that I did not have any regrets is certainly impossible, each time when it is time to collect the Blood River Red Lotus, there would always be many cultivators ending up falling to this place. Basically nobody knows or can predict when the Blood River Tide actually rises. Moreover, once they are caught by the suction force from the eddy currents inside the Blood River, then wanting to leave would be extremely difficult. I think that all those cultivators who could enter here are lucky, at least they were not corroded by the Blood River.”
Xiang Zhilan had a mild-mannered temperament, as such although she had been trapped here for almost a century, combined with her not too anxious worrying, resulted in her not looking too old. As she spoke about her time in here, she still had a tiny smile on her face, “Junior Apprentice Sister Ji, you asked me this, was it be because you regret trying to collect the Blood River Red Lotus?”
Yan Ji shook her head, “I fell down here not because I was trying to collect the Blood River Red Lotus. It was because I had gone to save someone, but in the end I could not save that person, resulting in winding up here.”
“Was that person also the disciple of the Blue Cloud Academy?” Xiang Zhilan’s immediate response was that the person that Yan Ji went to save was also from Blue Cloud Academy, otherwise she would definitely not have braved such huge risks to save this person.
“No, he and I are not very familiar with each other, but, but……” Yan Ji was not able to find the right words to describe her relationship with Ning Cheng.
Xiang Zhilan puzzlingly looked at Yan Ji, and spoke only after a good long while, “Junior Apprentice Sister Ji, if you were not very familiar with this person, then why did you try to save him in the Blood River Mountains? Ai, I really don’t know what to say to you……”
“Senior Apprentice Sister Lan, I also cannot really explain it to you as to how it is. If my guess is correct, then, after he fell, he definitely would not be swept away by the Blood River. If he was then there is more than a 90% chance that he would have already found this place, so……”
Yan Ji had not finished her words, when Xiang Zhilan immediately asked in a surprised voice, “Junior Apprentice Sister Ji, you are not implying that you want to go find this person, right?”
Yan Ji nodded and said, “I am definitely going to look for him.”
“Are you crazy?” Xiang Zhilan had a mild temperament, but even then she could not restrain herself and spoke up. “It was already a huge kindness of the heavens to let you fall and find this place. Yet you still want to go look for him? Look for a person who you yourself do not know well? You know these lands are simply endless right, even if you wander around this place for a lifetime, wouldn’t you only end up waking till your death? You should have seen some of those Array Formation Masters who had gone crazy in trying to deduce this Array Formation, some of them have been studying this Array Formation for several hundreds of years, and are still going on in their insanity.”
Yan Ji gave a slight smile, “Senior Apprentice Sister Lan, you know that my temperament is different from yours, if I had to wait here till my death, then I would really go insane long before that.”
“Just what kind of a person is he?” Xiang Zhilan looked at the determined expression of Yan Ji, and helplessly asked.
Yan Ji thought for a while before she spoke again, “Truthfully even I cannot say what kind of a person he is, but I definitely can say it with absolute certainty that there would certainly not be another such person in the entire Yi Xing Mainland. He had ended up saving a lot of people along the way, consciously or unconsciously, but he does not care much about the gratefulness of those people. There are even a few people that go to such an extent as to call him a Devil Cultivator, and as such disdain to be companions with him. He was also the one who had saved my life, but the reason that I admire him is not because he saved my life, truthfully I don’t even know what he originally looks like……”
“You said he is a Devil Cultivator?” Xiang Zhilan asked in a startled voice.
Yan Ji nodded and spoke, “Others say he is a Devil Cultivator, but I don’t think he is a Devil Cultivator. Even if he is a Devil Cultivator, he is a person that definitely deserves me saving him……”
Xiang Zhilan thought that since there was no way to get out of this place as such Yan Ji’s such thoughts were simply meaningless, she sighed and said, “That person should be a male cultivator, right? Junior Apprentice Sister Ji, the reason you want to be with this male cultivator, is it because you like this male cultivator?”
Yan Ji was silent for a long time, then just shook her head and said, “No that’s not it, he had changed his appearance, I don’t even know what he originally looks like, not to mention of me liking him. Besides, I have not thought of liking a person, I want to have my personal freedom. I just like the way he is, certainly, if I was able to find him in here, then even if I had to stay here with him for several hundred years, at least I don’t think it would be too lonely.”
Xiang Zhilan did not speak anymore as she already understood Yan Ji’s meaning. Falling to the bottom of the Blood River, it was equivalent to undergoing intolerable sufferings, it was not something that an ordinary person can live with. Even if she was a mild tempered woman, she still had a temporary companion who had accompanied her on this path. But her companion who had accompanied her for a few decades, ended up suddenly disappearing. She believed that Yan Ji over time, will turn out to be the same as her, and would look for a male cultivator from here to entrust themselves with each other.
She wanted to help Yan Ji and introduce her to a cultivator here, moreover that cultivator also obviously had good feelings towards Yan Ji. Moreover, he was not only the first person here, but also the only person among them who was able to cultivate in this sort of place, where no one else could. Moreover, not only could he advance, his advancing speed was also very fast. When he had come in here, he was only at Profound Core 1st Level, but now he was at Profound Core 9th Level.
But Xiang Zhilan had never thought that Yan Ji would have thoughts of wanted to leave this place.
Yan Ji stood up, smiled and spoke, “Senior Apprentice Sister Lan, I must go……”
Saying this, Yan Ji as if she had remembered something, pulled off her veil and spoke, “Senior Apprentice Sister Lan, if I don’t come back, if you have the opportunity to get out of this place in the future, then please inform the Yan Clan, that I had perished in the Blood River.”
Xiang Zhilan simply gawked at Yan Ji’s looks, and only after a good long while did she finally spoke up, “Junior Apprentice Sister Ji, you are so beautiful, I have never ever seen a woman more beautiful that you in my life……”
“Junior Apprentice Sister Lan, Junior Apprentice Sister Ji, aah so you all are here, the Spiritual Grass Garden that I had planted turned up a few new Spiritual Fruits, I wanted to invite you to taste it together.” Along with the sound, a man with a medium build strode over.
This man’s complexion was somewhat pale unlike Xiang Zhilan, but he had a ruddy tone and was exuding a strong self-confidence, there was not even half a point of resemblance between him and the cultivators who had fallen to this place and were totally confined at the bottom of the Blood River.
“Greeting to Senior Apprentice Brother Yushan.” Xiang Zhilan and Yan Ji quickly gave a bow towards this man.
This man was called Feng Yushan, and was also the male cultivator that Xiang Zhilan wanted Yan Ji to hook up with. Moreover, Feng Yushan was also the strongest person in their group, as such he was also taken in as their leader. Moreover, Feng Yushan’s character was also quite good, and rarely ever tried to oppress others, moreover he was especially good towards her.
“Junior Apprentice Sister Ji, you……” Feng Yushan was dumbfoundedly staring at Yan Ji’s face, he had never seen such a beautiful woman in his entire life. Before when he had seen Yan Ji with her perfect body, even though she was completely covered with her clothes, he already had realized that Yan Ji was definitely not ugly, but Yan Ji unexpectedly turned out to have such outstanding appearance that it was even more beautiful than his wildest dreams.
At this moment, he already knew that the person who he liked had finally appeared. This Yan Ji was the best Dao Companion he could hope for; nobody can steal Yan Ji from his side.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Yushan, Senior Apprentice Brother Lan, I must insist on leaving, we shall meet again sometime……” Yan Ji once again offered a bow and had turned to leave.
“You can’t go.” Feng Yushan almost blurted out.
But Yan Ji did not hear what Feng Yushan spoke, she was blankly watching a ragged figure with messy hair who was staggering as he slowly walked towards them, all of a sudden the tip of her nose suddenly burst with sourness.
