The large tree selected by Jun Xiaomo had st.u.r.dy branches, a thick foliage, and such a ma.s.sive trunk that it would require five grown men with outstretched arms if they were to completely hug the circ.u.mference of the tree.As they laid on one of the tree"s branches and peeked through its dense foliage, Jun Xiaomo could make out Qin Lingyu"s ink-black hair. She could tell that Qin Lingyu had come all this way in order to search for Qin Shanshan.Qin Lingyu looked about at his surroundings, hoping to locate any traces of Qin Shanshan. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain.“What are you thinking of doing?” Ye Xiuwen asked “Qin Shanshan” with a hushed voice. Jun Xiaomo turned around with a finger on her lips – “Shh…”She blinked with a crafty expression in her eyes. Then, she stretched out her hand and snapped once in mid-air.Pak!As the snap echoed through the otherwise still and silent air, a thick fog began to fill the lands below, obscuring the surroundings and blurring their vision.“This is…”“This is a formation array within a formation array. It"s also the illusion-inducing formation array that had earlier trapped and stumbled you. However, I"ve already taken the liberty to alter this formation array slightly to increase its effects.” Jun Xiaomo raised her chin slightly and curled her lips into a mischievous smile. She looked almost like a proud little cat that was brandis.h.i.+ng its claws, bragging about the fish it had just stolen.That said, such a prideful expression was hardly hateful. In fact, it could even be considered…rather adorable?As he gazed into the expression that was vastly different from what the original Qin Shanshan could ever display, Ye Xiuwen felt a wave of realization wash across him – It"s still that same face even if the person within has changed. How could their expressions be so vastly different? After all, the original Qin Shanshan had only incited feelings of hatred and thoughts of distancing himself; but the present “Qin Shanshan”…Truth be told, he couldn"t bring himself to hate her right now.As soon as she discovered that Jun Ziwen was slightly distracted, Jun Xiaomo nudged him slightly and asked, “What"s the matter? Are you still trapped within that earlier illusion?”Ye Xiuwen immediately returned to his senses and smiled faintly, “Nothing much.”“When someone says "nothing much", he always means "there"s something much".” Jun Xiaomo nodded affirmatively, causing Ye Xiuwen to feel like both laughing and crying. “Come to think of it…I"m pretty curious as to what you"d seen in the illusion earlier. When I discovered you completely dazed on the ground, you were making an expression that seemed to be both joyful as well as sorrowful.” Jun Xiaomo quipped curiously.Ye Xiuwen"s expression immediately darkened, and his gaze grew deep and abstruse.Even after a long time, he couldn"t find the words to answer Jun Xiaomo"s question.The atmosphere had turned slightly awkward as a result of the earlier question. However, Jun Xiaomo decided to break the awkward silence as she patted Ye Xiuwen"s shoulder, “Alright, alright, I know you don"t want to talk about it. Let"s not talk about it then. I won"t ask about it anymore. Oh yes, that illusion is designed to surface the memories that are buried deepest within a person"s heart and create an environment that the victim desires to see the most. If there"s something that you really desire, you have to work hard at it, alright? Life is too short for regrets!”Jun Xiaomo volunteered some words of advice to her partner in crime.Something that I really desire… Ye Xiuwen"s eyes looked slightly dazed.He thought about the kiss that he had nearly planted on her lips. Had it not been a mere illusion, would he have gone all the way?A resolute, affirmative response echoed softly in Ye Xiuwen"s heart.Unfortunately, his heart felt completely empty and miserable because he didn"t even know whether that person was still alive or not…“Brother! You"ve finally come to get me, huh?” A clear voice resounded from below them, interrupting Ye Xiuwen"s train of thoughts.Ye Xiuwen looked down and was slightly taken aback by the sight that unfolded.Another Qin Shanshan?“That"s just an illusion.” Jun Xiaomo minced her way towards Ye Xiuwen as she whispered into his ear.Jun Xiaomo"s warm breath tickled his ear, causing him to recoil slightly and avoid the close contact with Jun Xiaomo.“Didn"t Miss Tong just say that the illusion would create an environment that the victim desires to see the most? How come we"re able to see the illusion that is seen by Qin Lingyu?” Ye Xiuwen leaned to the side as he asked.The brash and sometimes simple-minded Jun Xiaomo glossed over Ye Xiuwen"s little gestures. Instead, she raised her chin slightly and spoke with a bright glint in her eyes, “With me here, do you think there"s anything we can"t do with formation arrays?”Ye Xiuwen chuckled lightly, “Ah, that"s right. Miss Tong had also messed with us all in a similar fas.h.i.+on earlier, huh? Trapping us in a place and then watching us struggle while you roll on the ground, laughing at our predicament.”Jun Xiaomo coughed dryly as she pointed back down on the ground at Qin Lingyu, “Let"s keep watching the show.”Ye Xiuwen chuckled once more as he shook his head helplessly.Under the tree, Qin Lingyu was conversing with the second “Qin Shanshan” that had been created by the formation array. As they kept their divine senses released and trained on their surroundings, Jun Xiaomo and Ye Xiuwen were able to clearly pick up the contents of their conversations.“Are you saying that…you"ve already broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage of cultivation?” Qin Lingyu looked at Qin Shanshan with a glint in his eyes.Qin Shanshan was evidently very pleased as she replied, “That"s right, brother. I"d not expected that as well. It turns out that the Dawn Sect"s protective formation array has other functions as well. I got bored after being trapped for such a long time, so I decided to sit down and start meditating. Unexpectedly, I discovered that my cultivation speed in here was much quicker than my normal cultivation speed outside the formation array. Thus, I managed to breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage of cultivation in no time.”“Is that so? Give me your hand. Let me take a look.” Qin Lingyu instructed Qin Shanshan.Without any hesitation, Qin Shanshan stretched out her arm. Qin Lingyu held Qin Shanshan"s hand tightly and began to release a thread of his own spiritual energy, sending it swimming through her meridians and Dantian.She"s really broken through…Qin Lingyu"s eyes instantly gleamed with a maddened joy and delight!If Qin Shanshan has broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage of cultivation, doesn"t this mean that our Origin Lockets can already be combined and fused into one?!“Ahh…brother, it"s hurting. Why are you using so much strength!” Qin Shanshan cried out in pain. She felt as though her wrist were about to be snapped by Qin Lingyu"s vice-like grip.It turns out that Qin Lingyu had failed to control his strength in all his excitement, and he had nearly inadvertently crushed Qin Shanshan"s wrist.He immediately released Qin Shanshan"s wrist. At this moment, his eyes suddenly darkened, and the depths of his pupils appeared hazy and murky, as though it were concealing something that could never be revealed to the world.“Shanshan, do you have brother"s Origin Locket with you?”“I"ve got it with me. What"s up?”“Could brother take a look at it?” Qin Lingyu"s voice had suddenly become incredibly harmonious, as though he were a concerned brother looking after his younger sister.As she watch the entire scene unfold, Jun Xiaomo could hear the fishy undertones hidden in Qin Lingyu"s voice.For some strange reason, a peculiar thought surfaced in her heart, and she had an inkling of what Qin Lingyu was trying to do. But is this really possible? It"s his own dear little sister…The illusory Qin Shanshan created by the formation array did not possess even the most basic cognitive functions that human beings did. Instead, it would simply play along and do anything that its victim, Qin Lingyu, desired most. Thus, without any hesitation, she immediately retrieved her brother"s Origin Locket from her Interspatial Ring and handed it over to Qin Lingyu.Then, as soon as Qin Lingyu received the Origin Locket with his own hand, a long, sharp spirit sword ferociously plunged through Qin Shanshan"s chest.Qin Lingyu"s hand could be seen firmly gripping the hilt at the other end of the sword.Qin Shanshan"s eyes widened with disbelief, “Brother…why…”“Because I"ve already had enough of you.” Qin Lingyu calmly stated. At this moment, there was only a cold, frigid gaze left in his eyes.Qin Shanshan collapsed onto the ground with her eyes wide open. Even on her deathbed, she still couldn"t believe that her own brother would murder her.She had died with a remaining grievance.Qin Lingyu held his own Origin Locket in one hand. Then, he retrieved Qin Shanshan"s Origin Locket from his own Interspatial Ring, squatted down, and placed it directly on the gaping wound on her chest.The blood on the wound had not coagulated yet. As soon as Qin Shanshan"s Origin Locket touched the liquid blood on her chest, the blood immediately adhered to it. Moments later, a bright, red light shone intensely, and Qin Shanshan"s Origin Locket turned a striking, blood-red hue.Then, he began to treat his own Origin Locket in the exact same manner. Naturally, he did not plunge a sword through his chest. Instead, he cut open a wound on his palm and dripped a drop of his own blood on his Origin Locket.Within moments, his Origin Locket also began to turn a striking, blood-red hue.Finally, Qin Lingyu put both Origin Lockets together. Within moments, waves of red light began to s.h.i.+ne, and the two began to fuse together.“Interesting…interesting.” Jun Xiaomo stroked her chin as she thought aloud.“What"s interesting?” Ye Xiuwen discovered from Jun Xiaomo"s expressions that she was ruminating about Qin Lingyu"s actions.“The items on Qin Lingyu"s hands are called Origin Lockets. I"d seen something like this in Qin Shanshan"s Interspatial Ring as well. However, I"d always thought that Origin Lockets could only be used to tell whether a person was dead or alive. From Qin Lingyu"s actions right now, it seems that they serve another purpose as well. Let"s watch and see.”As soon as Jun Xiaomo finished speaking, the Origin Lockets in Qin Lingyu"s hands began to transform and meld together. Finally, they became a completely new locket.Qin Lingyu ran his finger along the surface of the locket for a little bit. Then, with a crisp click, the locket opened and revealed a secret compartment within it.From this secret compartment, Qin Lingyu went on to retrieve a silken cloth from it. Then, as he opened up the silken cloth, a diagram could be clearly seen on its surface.“Hahahahaha…” Qin Lingyu threw his head into the air as he laughed madly, “I"ve finally got my hands on the key to the Arcane Realm! Hahahahaha…”Qin Lingyu looked like he had just gone insane. The revolting expression on his face made Jun Xiaomo rub her nose in disgust.How blind must she have been in her previous life to have fallen for such a fiend like Qin Lingyu? This man was even willing to kill his own biological sister!On the other hand, Ye Xiuwen was unable to appreciate what Qin Lingyu was holding in his hands right now, “Key to the Arcane Realm?”“The silken cloth on Qin Lingyu"s hands should be a formation diagram that can be used to open an Arcane Realm. This is why it"s called a "key to the Arcane Realm".” Jun Xiaomo explained.Ye Xiuwen nodded his head in realization. He had initially thought that such a “key” would be like the physical keys that mortals used. In any event, he would never have thought that such a key would be in the form of a formation diagram.“Hmph. Qin Lingyu must have been dreaming about obtaining this key for such a long time. Unfortunately for him, he"ll probably never be able to revel in the joy of having the key anymore. Qin Shanshan is already dead, and the Origin Locket in his hands right now is nothing more than a useless piece of junk.” Jun Xiaomo chuckled coldly as she stared at Qin Lingyu.As she watched how Qin Lingyu presented a twisted, macabre smile on his face, Jun Xiaomo couldn"t help but furrow her brows in disgust.Then, a wicked smile crept up the corner of her lips. She raised her hand and snapped once more.A light breeze swept across the surroundings gently, causing the trees around to start swaying to the rhythm of their rustling leaves. Within moments, a fog began to creep up over the surroundings once more.Qin Lingyu"s maddened laughter suddenly seized up. This was because Qin Shanshan"s corpse had suddenly vanished, and the piece of silk with the formation diagram had vanished like a wisp of smoke.“What"s going on?! Where"s my Arcane Realm key?!” Qin Lingyu immediately acted like a maddened demonic beast, scrambling about, trying desperately to retrieve that piece of silk that had been in his hands just moments ago.Jun Xiaomo allowed herself to indulge in Qin Lingyu"s panic and anxiety for a little while more. Then, she flicked her sleeves, and five talismans appeared over Qin Lingyu"s head, forming yet another formation array.“Pfft. You"re going crazy already? That was just the starter. The main dish is going to be served shortly!”Jun Xiaomo calmly articulated with a soulless, frigid gaze in her eyes. At this moment, her gaze was so incisive that it appeared to penetrate Qin Lingyu"s body and stab straight through his soul.
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