Chapter 130: The Road Ahead

At this moment, I could clearly feel that a vast amount of new information had suddenly flooded into my mind. Although I instinctively wanted to resist, these memories quickly merged with the things already stored in my consciousness.

"Xiaodong, what's wrong with you?"

Xiyue's voice was even gentler this time. The trace of coldness in her beautiful eyes had completely vanished, replaced entirely by profound tenderness. Her soft inquiry sounded like the sweet murmurs shared by a couple who had been happily married for decades.

I shook my head and reached out to take Xiyue's hand. Without needing words, we both already understood many things—we knew how we had eventually left Painted Eyebrow Village, though everything that happened after our departure remained a complete blank. Still, this was enough for us right now. Our current destination was Shadowless Village. Perhaps only upon reaching Shadowless Village would we discover what truly transpired back then, and why Yang Dong was the only one who managed to escape back to Painted Eyebrow Village, only to arrive with his life force exhausted and his spirit shattered.

Break!

Right at that moment, a sharp cry from Zhang Keqing echoed suddenly at the entrance. The next second, we saw Zhang Keqing storming in, radiating a murderous intent. But the instant she charged through the door, I flicked my wrist, and the corpse coffin behind me—obedient as a well-trained child—shrank to the size of a thumb and flew into my hand, exquisitely delicate.

"You!"

"How could you..."

Seeing this, Zhang Keqing began to tremble all over, and her movements and words clearly betrayed her fear and lingering resentment.

"I'm going to kill you! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ended up like this. Die!"

Suddenly, Zhang Keqing underwent a transformation that completely bewildered me. With a flash of her body, she lunged forward to grab me.

The moment she lunged, the shadow of a certain person flashed across my mind.

"You... are you that young girl who led us into the village back then?"

A towering wave of shock already churned within my heart. Yet at the same time, I had no idea why it was so effortlessly easy for me to catch Zhang Keqing's hand.

"I didn't expect you to remember me. That saves me from wasting my breath. Prepare to meet your maker!"

Hearing my words, not only did Zhang Keqing not stop, but she instead spun around and struck out at me with a furious palm strike. Naturally, Zhang Keqing was currently a Vajra Corpse; although she had not yet fully matured, her power was already more than sufficient to extinguish a person's soul on a whim.

"Stop!"

Two figures suddenly darted out from outside the cave, moving with an astonishing, almost unimaginable speed. At the same time, Zhang Keqing's speed surged instantly—so fast that even Xiyue, standing right in front of me, could not react in time before Zhang Keqing's palm landed squarely on my chest.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

However, things did not unfold as the others had anticipated. Facing that palm strike, I felt a magical surge in my body; all my physical capabilities had undergone an unimaginable enhancement. In fact, the moment Zhang Keqing made her move, I had already perceived it well in advance. As she attacked, I had swiftly placed a Soul-Dispersing Talisman directly against my chest. This entire sequence of actions had been completed in the blink of an eye, to the point where even I found it hard to believe.

Previously, I had no idea such an offensive or defensive maneuver was necessary, yet everything felt like a simple, instinctive act of self-preservation. A multitude of memories had suddenly surfaced in my mind, and after soaking in the Yellow Springs Water, I felt as though I had been thoroughly reborn.

Rip!

Ah!

Before Chen Chuyi and Zhao Shiyi could step forward, and before Xiyue could make a move, Zhang Keqing was directly blasted backward, accompanied by a miserable shriek.

Xiyue and the other two froze slightly before stepping up to stand beside me.

I took a step forward, bit down on my middle finger, and pressed it directly against the center of Zhang Keqing's brows. Instantly, Zhang Keqing's entire body shuddered, and the chaotic state of her nether-spirits—which had been triggered by the power of the Soul-Dispersing Talisman—gradually subsided. Gazing at me with a mixture of astonishment and trembling fear, Zhang Keqing stammered, "You... have you already recovered?"

It was evident from her voice that she held profound terror toward the person I used to be, which was why she reacted with such dread upon seeing me execute this technique.

Without answering her, I swiftly traced an archaic talisman rune upon the center of her brows, and then uttered a single command: "Seal!"

Zhang Keqing, who had just moments ago been fiercely arrogant, instantly deflated like a punctured ball. She stopped moving entirely, glaring at me with a look of bitter resentment mixed with fear.

Slowly lowering my hand, I let out a long breath.

In truth, throughout that series of rapid actions, my mind had been in a constant state of violent churn. I didn't say a word, simply standing quietly in place for a long time.

"Xiaodong..."

I do not know how much time had passed before Xiyue's gentle call finally pulled me out from the process of sorting and familiarizing myself with my memories. I nodded slightly toward her and whispered, "I'm fine."

Xiyue nodded in return.

Turning around, I walked over to Chen Chuyi and Zhao Shiyi, both of whom had sustained various injuries. After checking their wounds, I softly told them to rest here for a moment while I looked around to determine our path forward.

In my memories, such a cave existed, but it was not merely a natural cavern; it was an ancient tomb—the nameless ancient tomb from years past. I had no idea whom this tomb was built to encreep, but I did know that it contained numerous dead ends and only one path of survival. Back then, I had navigated it with the guidance of several legendary tomb-exploration experts and someone secretly leading the way, which was how we successfully found the exit—the sacrificial altar. Doing so now would be somewhat difficult; nevertheless, I believed I could find the way relying on my memories. However, if all four of us had to drag Zhang Keqing along, it would undoubtedly prove inconvenient. Since Chen Chuyi and Zhao Shiyi were both injured, I figured it would be best to let them rest here properly.

None of them raised any objections to my proposal. Having Xiyue watch over Zhang Keqing gave me complete peace of mind; after all, Zhang Keqing's corpse-ghost aura was now completely sealed by me, and since she had not yet achieved true cultivation, she had no way of breaking free from my seal.

With a flash of movement, feeling full of spirit and brimming with strength, I hurried along according to the mental map in my memories. Although the countless markers left from our entry years ago had long since blurred, the process of running through the tunnels served as a period of adaptation, fusing my physical body and my restored memories into one. In that brief interval, I couldn't help but think of the countless rebirth novels I had read, where protagonists experienced a similar process of soul and new body adapting to a new world, and a helpless wry smile involuntarily touched my lips.