Chapter 53: Mutual Probing

Blood scattered across the snow like ink splashed by a painter.

At the summit of Mount Changbai, the avalanche subsided.

The three thousand mountains instantly fell into a dead silence.

"Puff."

The accumulated snow burst open, and a demonic soul surged out.

"Whoosh!"

Snow flew in all directions, closely followed by a human figure.

The three thousand mountains regained their bustling vitality as crimson blood seeped out across the snowy ground everywhere.

A flash of fire erupted as Ye Ziyan thrust her spear and broke through the snow, her garments drenched in blood.

She brushed a snowflake from her hair with her fingertips, raised her gaze toward Mount Changbai, flickered her figure, and trotted across the snow.

Upon the loose white snow, not the slightest trace of a footprint could be seen.

Walking on snow without leaving a trace—Ye Ziyan had broken through the Qi Sea Profound Realm and truly entered the Qi Sea Earth Realm.

The blood staining her body did not belong to her, but to the Gale Black Panther.

During the avalanche, everything had been buried beneath the heavy snow.

Yet this had failed in the slightest to dampen Ye Ziyan's determination to slay the panther; even beneath the deep accumulation of snow, she had still engaged in a ferocious battle against the Gale Black Panther.

When her Prairie Fire Phoenix Spear pierced through the brain of the Gale Black Panther, a muffled "bang" echoed from within her body, sounding like a firecracker detonating.

The barrier of the Qi Sea Earth Realm was shattered, and her strength advanced by leaps and bounds.

If she were to face Yuwen Chengdu again at this moment, she likely would not be defeated so easily.

Having clawed her way out of the snow, she felt little joy, and was instead consumed by deep anxiety.

With such a massive avalanche, whether Ling Xuan, who had been right at the core of the avalanche on Mount Changbai, remained alive was still an unknown.

With Ling Xuan's fate unknown, she had to quickly search for his whereabouts; otherwise, she feared she would have no way to make her Shikigami, Zihuang, unravel all the starlight seals, rendering the thought of finding the Empress an absolute delusion.

Before she could even approach Mount Changbai, her path was barred by a dainty figure, and a voice as crisp as silver bells drifted over: "Such a handsome person, why is there such a familiar aura about you?"

"Get lost!"

Without a moment of hesitation, Ye Ziyan wore a look of utter disdain. "A good dog does not block the path."

What familiar aura? Among the three thousand mountains, she was only familiar with one person—and a male one at that: Ling Xuan.

As for others, especially women, Ye Ziyan had no desire to become entangled with them.

Dressed in men's attire, with a height roughly matching Ling Xuan's, her inherently spirited face appeared even more handsome under the reflection of the bloodstains.

"Don't be angry," the silver-bell-like voice trilled with a charming laugh. It was none other than Yuwen Ni, who had just emerged from Eagle Sorrow Ravine. "Little sister Wenni, how may I address you, young master?"

One does not strike a smiling person, especially when the person before her was, like herself, a woman.

Women did exist among the vanguard elite training squads of the military garrisons, but they were few in number.

The Divine Emperor had issued an imperial decree, assembling the various military garrison troops at Zhuojun, and it was hardly strange that some women who preferred martial armor over feminine attire had joined their ranks as well.

Yet in the other person's eyes, she had been mistaken for a young gentleman.

Ye Ziyan's brows furrowed slightly as she prepared to explain.

Suddenly, the snow on the ground exploded outward, and a colorful pheasant burst forth.

A flash of purple light flickered in its eyes—another five-star azure-glow demonic soul, letting out strange "clucking" cries.

"Young master, how about we join forces?" Yuwen Ni suggested, opening her hands to reveal an Emei piercing dagger in each.

The colorful pheasant possessed strength even slightly superior to that of the Gale Black Panther. Without responding, Ye Ziyan thrust her spear forward.

"Silence means consent," Yuwen Ni giggled, her figure drifting gracefully into the air.

With an Emei dagger in each hand, her movements were ethereal and agile, resembling a ghost.

Ye Ziyan felt a brief pang of astonishment. With such martial prowess, this person was likely not much inferior to herself; how could such a remarkable woman exist within a garrison squad?

While Ye Ziyan hesitated, Yuwen Ni was inwardly overjoyed.

Having just returned from cultivating in the Netherworld Palace, to encounter someone who could make her heart flutter like this felt nothing short of a divine blessing.

Looking at the young master before her, both her figure and appearance grew directly upon her heartstrings.

To her surprise, facing a five-star azure-glow demonic soul like the colorful pheasant, not only did this person show not the slightest trace of fear, but she also struck decisively.

If this wasn't taking an interest in her, what was it?

This was clearly out of concern that the colorful pheasant might bring her harm.

Upon leaving Eagle Sorrow Ravine and contacting her elder brother, Yuwen Chengdu, she had learned that an avalanche had occurred in the three thousand mountains, trapping countless garrison training squads within.

The Heir of Prince Changping, who possessed the divine medical arts of the Taiji Needles, happened to be training within the three thousand mountains.

Her curiosity had been piqued, and she wanted to see what manner of person that fellow truly was.

A thought had crossed her mind: since the avalanche originated from Mount Changbai, the number of garrison training troops trapped at the foot of the mountain must be immense.

Since the Heir of Prince Changping served as a medical supervisor in the Imperial Medical Service, he would surely make a move.

She could just as well take the opportunity to observe whether the Taiji Needles were truly as miraculous as rumored.

Little did she expect that before even reaching Mount Changbai, she would encounter such a handsome young master.

Not only was the person quite pleasing to the eye, but their strength was also formidable.

This was quite literally a match made in heaven.

Yuwen Ni even felt as though the malevolent qi had not yet peaked and the Netherworld Gate had opened prematurely simply to prepare for this accidental encounter.

Intending to test Ye Ziyan's true capabilities, Yuwen Ni held back a fraction of her power with every thrust of her Emei daggers.

To her surprise, Ye Ziyan shared the exact same thought; her Prairie Fire Phoenix Spear not only refrained from unleashing the power of the fire phoenix, but she also held back at every turn.

Such an extraordinary woman—if she could discern her origins through her martial style, perhaps they could forge a friendship.

The colorful pheasant, however, was completely baffled. The two creatures before it clearly possessed strength comparable to its own.

Yet every time they struck, it felt as though they were holding back their full might.

Was this a probing test, or was it another probing test?

Was this toyed with, or was it being mocked?

These humans were truly something else; they simply did not treat it, a five-star azure-glow demonic soul, with any respect at all.

Yet every time it desperately tried to escape, it would be blocked by the pair.

It could neither defeat them nor escape from them.

To make matters worse, these two fellows refused to deal a fatal blow and showed mercy at every turn.

The colorful pheasant began to question its very existence as a demonic soul.

How could these humans possibly play around like this?

Playing dead wouldn't work either; the moment the two fellows saw it slack off even slightly, they would viciously unleash fierce moves aimed at its weakest spots.

If it were capable of speech, the colorful pheasant would have undoubtedly burst out with profanities.

Yet Ye Ziyan and Yuwen Ni seemed to share a tacit understanding, each disguising her true martial prowess and pretending to have more heart than strength.

At the same time, they competed secretly against each other, watching to see which side would reveal their true strength first.

When fighting for one's life, one could act with complete uninhibited abandon, unleashing whatever techniques came to mind, as long as they injured the enemy—any move was a good move.

When disguising oneself, however, one had to remain utterly cautious; whatever technique came to mind could not be directly executed and instead required modification to avoid exposing one's true strength.

Not only that, but they also had to ensure the other party could not tell that it was intentionally done.

Relatively speaking, this not only tested physical endurance but was also an absolute mental workout.

Ye Ziyan had experienced this sensation when fighting Yuwen Chengdu, and having gone through it once more, she now possessed a certain degree of experience.

Yuwen Ni had cultivated in the Netherworld Palace and had been warned by her father, Yuwen Huaji, since childhood not to casually expose the martial arts of the Netherworld Palace. Thus, one could say she was exceptionally experienced.

At this moment, both wished to conceal their identities while probing one another, nearly driving the colorful pheasant to tears as it let out mournful clucks.

It seemed to be begging in supplication: "If you're going to kill me, just kill me! Stop fluctuating between tight and loose, you're scaring the chicken half to death. You must know that demonic souls have dignity too!"