Tainted Heart | Cultivation World Series 3 (BL)

C H A P T E R 7

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Chapter 7

A long staircase that was made of an ancient stone greeted their sight; the stairs were deep down the temple of who knows where. Lian Ren stood up as he brushed away the dust on the hem of his Yun Sect robe and shifted his gaze to Xin Mei. "Shijie, I think this place is straight on somewhere that is not allowed to go."

Shao Ling stared down the long stairs. A sinister demonic aura was seen deep down the secret passage, which was quite suspicious and dangerous. "It's better if we solve this problem first. Breaking the rules for a good reason is not that bad." Shao Ling spoke as he put both hands on his back like a strict, dignified master.

Lian Ren didn't know how to react to what he said. What is he saying... When did he have that kind of mindset? Xin Mei behind them, nodded with a joyful expression. "That's right! Don't mind the elders because eliminating evil comes first!" She took a step forward and held on to the grip of her longbow tightly. Xin Mei pulled the string, and a purple spiritual qi flowed out of her fingertips. The purple spiritual qi immediately molded its shape into an arrow. The string gently slid away from Xin Mei's fingertips as she released it, and the arrow rushed down the stairs where she aimed.

The rushing arrow illuminated the dark stairs; spider webs and overgrown weeds were seen through the light that the arrow was radiating until the spiritual qi that was shaped into an arrow slowly disappeared into nothingness. "There's nothing dangerous down there, Shizun. We can now go downstairs, but we still shouldn't let our guard down," Xin Mei said as she put her bow on her back.

Shao Ling didn't answer, and Lian Ren stepped forward to lead the way. As soon as the three of them stepped on the fifth staircase, a new square tile covered the exit, and the whole area became dark. Lian Ren heard Shao Ling clicking his tongue, and suddenly, a cold but gentle air surfaced around them, followed by a glowing spiritual qi that was shaped into a snowflake materializing out of Shao Ling's right palm.

The surroundings were now illuminated with a bright light, and they could now clearly see each other. Shao Ling glanced at his two disciples as he spoke, "Bear the cold. Let's go."

The three of them continued to walk down. As they walked deep down the secret passage of the temple, the more sinister the air around them became. Xin Mei grabbed her bow on her back again and held onto the string to ready herself while Lian Ren continued walking leisurely as he watched Shao Ling in front of him, who was leading the way with a glowing snowflake on his hand. Lian Ren shifted his gaze at the snowflake on Shao Ling's hand. It was beautiful, and if you see it closer, the detail of the snowflake seems magical, with glitter and the tiny details of snowmen on its edges.

Lian Ren knew that his Shizun always liked the snow. No, his Shizun loved the snow, but at the same time, his Shizun was weak to the cold. Lian Ren always found it weird when his Shizun would go outside every winter and always watched the snowflakes fall down and compress themselves into a pile of snow in his last lifetime. Every winter, Lian Ren would hide behind the well near the Azure Cloud Pavilion while staring at his Shizun, who was watching the beautiful scenery of the winter with his eyes slightly sparkling in amusement.

Back then, Lian Ren had no courage to approach or talk to his Shizun because he knew that his Shizun despised him. He could only watch from afar, with anger and amusement mixed inside him. Even after his Shizun had done horrifying and humiliating things to him in his last lifetime, Lian Ren couldn't bear to hate him completely. It was always a two-sided, mixed emotion that he couldn't understand. It was as if there was a different person inside of him that confused his true emotions.