Ostentatious Zhao Yao

As the Hour of the Rat finally arrived with much difficulty, I took possession of Zhi Yan’s body and picked up my sword. In spite of Little Cinnabar Mole’s interference from the outside, I immediately broke through the dark guards who were guarding Su Mountain’s magic array, agilely avoiding their attacks. Without much complication, I directly charged into it. 

*Hour of the Rat (子时 – zǐ shí) – between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.

As soon as I entered the array, the surrounding scenery instantly changed. It was no longer like the warm early summer from the outside, covered in wild green grass. Instead, it changed into a world of ice and snow, where the frigid wind was bitingly cold, just like arriving in the snowiest country in the extreme north. 

However, strangely enough, I had clearly never been inside Su Mountain’s magic array, but I had a vague feeling that this place was very familiar. 

I searched nearby, intending to find Mo Qing in the magic array as quickly as possible. However, when I flew up into midair and used the Clairvoyance Art, I was completely confused. 

The world in this magic array… Was much larger than I had imagined! 

Undulating glaciers that were unendingly continuous, with snowy fields and icy lakes, together they formed a labyrinth one after the other. This place was not a magic array, this place was a completely different world… 

But wait… 

Looking down from this height, this place appeared to be like… The glaciers that I saw when I returned to my body after I took the Resurrection Pill. Could it be that… Qin Qian Xian hid my body here? Inside Su Mountain’s magic array? 

If that was the case, then I would get my body back soon, was that not so? 

When I thought about it, my heart surged with excitement. I used clairvoyance to look everywhere, hoping to find them, Mo Qing and Shi Qi, sooner. However, the world was boundless, without any guidance, I searched everywhere but got no results. My heart was both anxious and helpless. 

Suddenly in the midst of it all, I somewhat understood Mo Qing’s urgency when he dispersed his consciousness to find me. 

So it turned out to be this type of anxiousness, huh…

A heavy, muffled “boom” sounded, coming from a distant place in the mountains. I located the direction and immediately flew over there. While I was still in midair, with a quick glance down below, I spotted a black robed Mo Qing. 

His silhouette was clearly visible in the fields of ice and snow. I disliked even the thought of a slow flight down, so I flicked my fingers to instantly travel. I winked and landed behind him. Without calling out to him, I rushed up and wanted to hug him from behind. 

“Ahem…” 

“Ah! Can’t touch him!” 

Suddenly off to the side, two voices could be heard. As soon as I was just about to touch Mo Qing, with much difficulty, I halted my hands and looked sideways. A moment ago in midair, with my quick glance, I only saw Mo Qing and did not look anywhere else. Only now did I notice Shi Qi off to the side with a meditating Qin Qian Xian. 

Shi Qi’s complexion was still that same rosiness, but Qin Qian Xian’s complexion was much paler than before, much like if one did not pay attention, he could ascend to heaven just like that scholar, Cao Ning. 

”He’s suppressing the eye of the array, so can’t touch him.” As Shi Qi said this, she stood by my side, making one circle around me. She was sizing me up. 

However, I did not even spare a thought about her, I just turned towards Mo Qing. Sure enough, I saw his controlled expression and droopy eyes, like he was half asleep and half awake, but the muscles all over his body were so tight. Wan Jun Sword stood before him half a foot away, both of his hands were pressed down, even if I stood in front of him, he did not even raise his eyes to look at me, he was just like a sculpture. 

“What’s the matter?” I frowned and asked Qin Qian Xian. 

“Are you the sect leader?” Shi Qi moved close to my side and asked me. 

I pushed her super close face away: “Qin Qian Xian, you should know who I am right now. I don’t have much time, you best quickly tell me about the situation in here.” 

“You really are the sect leader!” Shi Qi pounced up to hug my waist. With all of her brute force, she picked me up and twirled around twice, “Sect Leader! Sect Leader, you really came back!” If she had a tail behind her derriere, I might have been thrown up into the sky by now. I patted her head: “Don’t fuss.” 

“Oh!” She responded in a clear and lively voice, and then she obediently put me down. She simply held onto my shoulders, as her head rubbed against them. 

While off to the side, Mo Qing with his controlled expression and droopy eyes suddenly spoke: “Lu Shi Qi, let go.” Each and every word was said very somberly.