Chapter 2 Consciousness Sea
"You... who are you, and where... is this? Me... how did I even get here?" A childish voice came from a nearly transparent phantom. It was the girl from moments ago, but unlike before, when she was covered in blood, she was now completely clean. Yet she looked entirely translucent, ethereal, giving the impression that she could drift away with the wind at any moment. And not just her appearance—her very essence was the same. The previous girl had possessed a resolute air, as though she had weathered the vicissitudes of life, but this girl seemed utterly naive and unworldly.
"Me? I am me!" replied the greenish, somewhat more substantial phantom. "As for where this is, this is your spiritual domain, also called the Consciousness Sea—which is probably what you people call the mind.... Oh, and I see another fellow here. How come she's here too?? Wait, no, where did she go??"
"Then you..."
"Never mind. As for why I'm here, you can think of it as my empire suffering a catastrophe. I fought for my country until my strength was exhausted and I fell. Then, because of a treasure I carried, this sliver of my soul survived. And for some reason, I ended up here—it's that simple." After finishing this rush of explanation, the green shadow sank back into his own thoughts. *Why would she be here? Could it be that her disciple also...* Seeming to recall some unpleasant memory, he quickly shook his head to banish the thought, turning his attention back to the very weak little girl before him.
"Then do you still want to live?" the girl asked cautiously, her expression tense, looking ready to fight for her life. She had heard tales of so-called Immortals seizing the mortal bodies of others for their own use, but because the old man was too illusory, it carried little intimidation, appearing almost cute in the eyes of the aged green phantom.
"Hahahaha, if this old man had such intentions, you would have been reduced to ashes long ago! This old man is far too weak now, and I've lived enough anyway. If not for that tiny bit of Nether Qi and the Mental Cultivation Method just now, both of us would have been wiped out together a moment ago. But that trace of Nether Qi alone shouldn't have been enough... There's no way she could have ended up here just because of some ordinary Nether Qi! Could it be the Mental Cultivation Method from just now?? But that was merely..."
The green-robed elder asked with interest, "Little doll, who are you? Where did you learn this Mental Cultivation Method?"
"Ah-die shouted it just now!!"
"Him? How could that be!! In this old man's view, you must be..." The elder smiled disdainfully and was about to continue questioning, but seeming to notice something, he instinctively shuddered and quickly changed his tune. "Hahahaha, to be lucky enough to run into someone in these final moments and get a chance to cling to life a little longer... Seeing that you're facing a crisis, I'll use this last bit of my strength to help you out. Consider it a few more merits for the netherworld. In return, I'll stay here with you for a bit... roughly, uh, less than a year and a half. Of course, this old man won't get in your way, you can rest assured about that."
"A Feng Hua? A single flower? Don't chase me away, I still have things to say, seriously..." The elder seemed to have more to say, but before he could finish, the cyan phantom of the elder split into two parts. One part merged into the girl's phantom, while the other vanished within the Consciousness Sea, integrating into the girl's physical body. If anyone were in the courtyard right now, they would notice that the girl's brow was no longer tightly furrowed, and a faint cyan aura drifted around her body, thin as cicada wings.
"How, how do I get out! Hey!"
"Ah-ah-ah! It hurts!" A cry rang out from the courtyard, followed by...
"Screech," the door opened, and Jian Xin walked out slowly, draped in blood-soaked clothes. Her expression was cold, entirely devoid of the ignorance and innocence she had shown in the Consciousness Sea, replaced by a chill carrying a ruthlessness unbefitting her age.
"Xiner, it's alright now..."
"Xiner, my Xiner, how are you?! Where are you hurt? Say something!! Ah! It's all your Ah-die's fault, if not for—"
"Bang!" Jian Xin slammed the door shut fiercely, but the violent motion caused her vision to go black. She barely managed to steady herself to keep from falling, then continued walking forward.
"Xiner!" the two of them shouted in unison.
"Don't follow me, your daughter has more important matters right now," came a cold voice from the 11-year-old girl. It was utterly baffling, for such coldness should never be the expression of an 11-year-old mountain girl.
The couple watched their daughter walk away, momentarily not knowing what to do. Recovering quickly, the woman slapped the man across the face: "Look, this is all your fault! What kind of... what kind of cultivation were you doing!! You said cultivating would make Xiner better—where is she better?! Look at what's happened to Xiner!! Give me back my daughter!! Give me back my sweet, obedient daughter, give her back to me~" As she scolded him, she leaned against the man and wept.
"I... I'll go bring her back." The man clearly had no way of dealing with his daughter either. This whole affair stemmed from him, and a lingering sense of guilt filled his heart toward her. She had every right to hate him! But no matter what, he would bring their daughter back! He would use every ounce of his strength to turn her back into who she used to be.