Bai Xuanling did not hold back. She raised her other fist and swung it directly at Xuan Le.
Xuan Le raised a hand to block, but the punch carried tremendous force. She was sent flying, the left half of her body dissolving into scattered light.
Yet the smile on her face remained full as she spoke in a seemingly mocking tone:
"Why the rush, Sister? You are the one who invited him into your Sea of Consciousness. You will not let him look at this, and you will not let him look at that — so why even let him in?"
"Could it be that Sister is playing the trick of covering her ears while stealing a bell — fooling herself like she would fool a child?"
Chu Xingchen watched Bai Xuanling's killing intent steadily rising, but he did not say anything. He simply waited in silence for Bai Xuanling's decision.
Xuan Le steadied herself, and the surrounding energy began to fill in her body. After merely standing still for a moment, her form was fully restored. She fixed an aggressive gaze on Bai Xuanling, her voice rising dramatically:
"You have been suppressing me by force for hundreds of years — impressive, I will give you that. But using lies to deceive yourself for hundreds of years? That is just pathetic."
"Is it really that you dare not let others see, Sister? Or is it that you dare not look yourself?"
Bai Xuanling scoffed at this:
"Only second-rate people feel the need to tell others everything. I have already made my peace with my decisions — why would I need anyone else to judge whether they were right or wrong?"
"Times change. The clouds of the past have long since scattered. What could I possibly still be unwilling to let go of?"
"Your little attempts to provoke people's emotions are truly pathetic. They make me want to laugh more than anything."
Xuan Le looked at Chu Xingchen and chuckled:
"Little Xingchen, let me tell you — my sister here is just hard-headed. If she could truly let go, why would she need to hide anything?"
Bai Xuanling clenched her fist, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Xuan Le.
Xuan Le showed not the slightest fear. At worst, she would get camped at her spawn point again. Her gaze met Bai Xuanling's without yielding an inch.
Seeing that the situation was about to devolve into another round of camping Xuan Le's respawn, Chu Xingchen finally let out a soft sigh:
"You say Xuan Le is your sister, but in essence, she is also formed from your longing for her. Fighting with yourself like this is a bit too fractured, do you not think?"
"Everyone has secrets they want to hide in their heart, and emotions they cannot share with others."
Bai Xuanling's expression relaxed slightly at these words, and she cast a dismissive glance at Xuan Le.
Xuan Le did not hesitate to start mocking Chu Xingchen:
"Still Little Xingchen being considerate of his sister — telling lies to coax her. Go on, keep coaxing."
Chu Xingchen looked at Xuan Le and decided to rein her in a bit. He did want to use her to ask Bai Xuanling some questions, but he had no intention of pushing Bai Xuanling into a corner.
He spoke in a calm tone. "I am guessing that when you first saw me and immediately drew your sword, it was not because you did not recognize me. It was because you actually did recognize me."
Xuan Le's smile widened as she put on a puzzled expression:
"I recognize you?"
"You certainly do, and you dislike me intensely." Chu Xingchen's own smile surfaced. "Big Sister Bai mentioned before that when she comes to visit me, both her body and mind feel much more relaxed, and that coming here to unwind might not be a bad idea."
"I do not think Big Sister Bai would say something like that just to humor me. So does that mean that when she is in a good mood, her suppression of you is at its strongest?"
"You recognize me, and you feel I am a burden who would ruin your plans. You also sense that I have a close relationship with Big Sister Bai."
"You might not be able to actually kill me here, but trying does not hurt, right?"
"You can act. But I can see through it."
The smile faded from Xuan Le's face. She stopped putting up a useless pretense — if Chu Xingchen could connect even these dots, continuing to act would only make her look like a fool. Her tone turned cold:
"You are sharp, I will give you that. But so what?"
"If you do not look at the knot in my sister's heart, how can you save her? I can wait for her at every moment, just as she was willing to wait for me to awaken."
Chu Xingchen rubbed his hands together and looked at the endless loop of past memories playing out around them. He chuckled lightly:
"There is always a way. She is not fighting you alone."
"Lu Xuan, Xie Lingyu, Qing He, and even those Tianyan Sect cultivators you mocked as absolute fools — they all stand with her. The fact that they are willing to spend time devising a way to suppress her cultivation with seals is proof of that."
"And I will stand with her too. The truth is, you are the one who is alone."
"Time is not necessarily on your side. Perhaps it is on ours."
"How about it? Does our group of absolute fools make you feel quite cornered sometimes?"
"Let me teach you a famous quote — unity is strength."
"You should learn that one well."
Xuan Le's expression turned ice-cold. She stared fixedly at Chu Xingchen, fury churning within her eyes.
Bai Xuanling's expression, on the other hand, suddenly became much more relaxed as she quietly watched Chu Xingchen.
Chu Xingchen swept his gaze across the surroundings, no longer looking at Xuan Le. He faced Bai Xuanling directly:
"If this is all there is to see, then we will stop here. I have a general understanding of the situation. If I have any questions I truly cannot figure out, I will come ask you again."
"From here on, trust this person who is also a bit of an absolute fool to think up a proper solution for you."
Bai Xuanling reached out and lightly tapped Chu Xingchen's forehead. The power of her Sea of Consciousness gradually enveloped him.
Chu Xingchen gave a slight nod.
Unfortunately, this time he had only seen the surface-level problems. But when he got back, he could ask Lu Xuan about this fragmented Divine Sense situation — perhaps that would yield additional insights.
During his previous exchange with Lu Xuan, Lu Xuan had also been stuck on not being able to understand the specific state of Bai Xuanling's Sea of Consciousness.
Many of their approaches had to rely on the most conservative methods.
There was quite a bit here that Chu Xingchen would need to keep confidential. But spending some time to understand Lu Xuan's plan should allow him to solve at least some of Bai Xuanling's smaller problems.
Such as making this unruly Xuan Le a bit less unruly.
Bai Xuanling could directly evolve into — Bai Xuanling the Grandma.
Chu Xingchen sensed the power of Divine Sense surging around him and slowly closed his eyes, preparing to leave Bai Xuanling's Sea of Consciousness.
A sensation of traversal washed over him, then subsided.
Chu Xingchen slowly opened his eyes.
What entered his vision was not the great hall of Tianyan Peak.
Instead, it was the small courtyard of Zhuji Peak — and it looked almost identical to how the courtyard appeared in the present day.
A middle-aged man dressed in black, looking somewhat mature for his age, stood beneath a large tree holding a wooden sword. He moved slowly, breaking down each of his movements with deliberate precision.
Two young children in white dresses stood with their backs to Chu Xingchen, each holding a small wooden sword and following the middle-aged man's every movement.
"Sword techniques are techniques, but they are also intent."
"First comprehend the technique, then understand the intent."
The middle-aged man's tone was unhurried, his movements flowing gently. A set of swordplay that was not particularly advanced was being broken down into the most fundamental components.
Chu Xingchen was stunned. He immediately understood the situation and quickly looked to the side. There stood Bai Xuanling, hands behind her back, gazing serenely ahead.
"The one on the left, the one on the right — which do you think is me?" Bai Xuanling asked.
Chu Xingchen heard her words and followed her gaze.
The girl on the left moved slowly, but her sword techniques were already becoming fluid and connected.
The girl on the right was more rigid and mechanical — her movements could only be described as a convincing imitation.
In terms of raw talent alone.
Chu Xingchen answered honestly: "Given your aptitude, it should be the one on the left."
Bai Xuanling smiled and nodded.
The middle-aged man finished his sword demonstration and withdrew, his gaze shifting to the two girls who had also lowered their swords.
Even though Chu Xingchen could not see the two little girls' expressions, looking at how straight Bai Xuanling stood with her back turned, and how Xuan Le's small shoulders were slightly slumped, he could guess how they looked.
The middle-aged man's eyes swept over both of them, and the stern expression on his face instantly melted away. He smiled with incredible warmth, tossed the wooden sword casually onto the ground, and reached out with both hands to ruffle their heads:
"Xuan Ling, you have practiced well."
Xuan Le's head drooped even lower.
"But Xuan Le has made even greater progress."
Xuan Le's head perked back up, and she glanced sideways at her sister beside her.
She said in a small voice:
"Sister... could you teach me a bit more later?"
Little Xuan Ling also reached out and gently patted little Xuan Le's head. Her voice carried a hint of that familiar coolness:
"Okay. Big Sister will teach you."
She spoke with all the authority of a small adult pretending to be grown up.
[
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