Battle Through the Heavens

The scene inside the cool and refreshing cave was strange and dangerous; a woman held a longsword at a young man’s throat.

The icy feeling on his throat caused numerous goosebumps to appear all over Xiao Yan’s body. He raised his hands and bitterly smiled in a manner that hoped to clear up any misunderstandings, “I did not do that thing to you.”

Hearing this, Yun Zhi’s pretty face became a little flushed. In her heart, she thought: You may not have done that to me, but is there any difference between what you have done and that thing?

A glint appeared in her beautiful eyes but the longsword in Yun Zhi’s hand did not make the slightest movement. She shifted her gaze and saw the very red handprint on Xiao Yan’s face. Evidently, that was the spot where the slapping sound in the cave had originated from.

Staring at the somewhat comical looking handprint, the iciness in Yun Zhi’s eyes became a little warmer. A long while later, she let out a dejected sigh and weakly withdrew her longsword before walking towards the interior of the cave. When she passed Xiao Yan, she said blandly, “We will just pretend that whatever happened today did not happen. Otherwise, if the story spreads, it won’t be beneficial for you.”

Standing on the same spot, Xiao Yan eyed Yun Zhi’s graceful and attractive curves from her back before closing his eyes and releasing a bitter sigh. Indeed, such things ought to be forgotten. Compared to her status, he was like a toad that sat at the bottom of a well. Even though the toad had managed to become intimate with the swan because it had fallen into trouble, the vast sky was ultimately where the swan truly belonged while the toad would only be able to stay in the well, staring at the sky.

Dou Huang, a divide that was very difficult to surmount. Maybe Xiao Yan would have the opportunity to step over it but at the very least, it would not be now. This proud and noble woman would also not believe that a young man with only the strength of a Dou Zhe would be able to achieve that level. Xiao Yan may have talent but that did not mean that he would be able to become a Dou Huang.

“A dream leaves no traces…” Xiao Yan shook his head and whispered as he followed Yun Zhi further into the cave. Watching the cold faced Yun Zhi who had shut her eyes as she attempted to break the seal, he shrugged his shoulders. He sat down at a corner, closed his eyes and began training his Dou Qi

Following the quietness of the two, an awkward and embarrassing atmosphere descended into the interior of the cave. It appeared that the pair had difficulty returning to the harmony of the past few days.

The silent atmosphere persisted until noon. During this time, Xiao Yan went out to catch a few fish and was absent mindedly sitting beside the fire and rotating the wooden rod. His heart suddenly became aware of something and lifted his head, only for his gaze to clash with a pair of livid beautiful eyes.

The two gazes met and instantly shifted away, acting as though nothing had happened.

Xiao Yan rotated the grilled fish once more before extracting one of them and handing it over to Yun Zhi.

“You can eat it. I’m not hungry.” Yun Zhi lowered her head as she softly said. Just as she said those words, she felt her abdomen contract. However, she remained stubborn, closing her eyes and ignored her stomach’s protest.

“Relax. That thing has already been disposed of by me.” Seeing that Yun Zhi’s refusal to receive the fish, Xiao Yan could only smile and utter a cold joke.

Yun Zhi opened her eyes, pressed her lips closely together and lifted her head only to find a young man with a warm smile beside the fire. A softness flashed in her eyes. It was undeniable that this delicate and handsome look of Xiao Yan’s along with his age gave others the impression of a harmless person.

Only when she stared at the grilled fish did Yun Zhi recall that this entire incident started because of the fish that she had grilled. The young man in front of her had simply faced an unexpected misfortune. Although this unexpected misfortune was something that any man would love to experience…

Letting out a sigh, Yun Zhi extended her hand and received the grilled fish in front of her. Her small mouth opened and was about to touch it when the Xiao Yan suddenly called, “Be careful. It’s still a little hot.”

Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, Yun Zhi could not help but become distracted. She immediately gave him a supercilious look and said, “Which Dou Huang have you seen cared about this little bit of heat?”

Xiao Yan gave an embarrassed smile, grabbed a grilled fish and gorged it down.

With small bites, Yun Zhi slowly transferred the fish meat into her small mouth and began to relax. Perhaps because of the caring words that Xiao Yan had said out of the blue. She swallowed the food and said softly, “I should be able to break the seal by tomorrow.”

Xiao Yan’s large chewing motion suddenly paused and he swallowed the things in his mouth. He sighed. For some reason, he had the feeling that when Yun Zhi once again regained the strength of a Dou Huang, the pleasant relationship that they had would be broken. In the future, she would continue to be the superior Dou Huang she was while he would still be an ant that was fighting to become a Dou Shi. It would be difficult for the two to ever interact again.

Thinking to this point, Xiao Yan began to feel that the fragrant grilled fish had become tasteless. In a few bites, he finished eating it and vaguely said, “Really? Congratulations.”

“After recovering my strength, I will once again go and find the Amethyst Winged Lion.” Appearing not to have felt Xiao Yan’s mood, Yun Zhi continued her own conversation.

“I hope that you would continue to be sealed by it…” The sentence suddenly came from Xiao Yan’s mouth which was busily chewing the fish.

Hearing the words, Yun Zhi’s eyebrows straightened. She angrily threw the grilled fish at Xiao Yan and lashed out, “You jinx. What are you saying?”

Xiao Yan flipped his hand and caught the flying grilled fish. He saw the small teeth marks on it and grinned. He began to bite at it in a manner that suggested he was handling a treasure of sorts.

Watching Xiao Yan holding the grilled fish which she had eaten from and repeatedly biting from it, a bright red color faintly appeared on Yun Zhi’s face. She softly spat, “Eat it. Let it choke you to death!”

After finishing the fish, Xiao Yan burped before tilting his head and asked, “This may appear like nonsense but I still want to ask. Do you want my help?”

After hearing Xiao Yan’s words, Yun Zhi became silent and actually nodded her head. Seeing the dumbfounded expression on Xiao Yan’s face, she explained softly, “The Purple Spirit Crystal is usually placed in the Amethyst Winged Lion’s cave. The previous time, I had intended to sneak in but it discovered me… When I recover my strength tomorrow, I will once again distract the Amethyst Winged Lion. As for you,,, I hope you can enter the Amethyst Winged Lion’s cave and help me seek the Purple Spirit Crystal.”

“It won’t be a problem providing help, but… it may be shameful to say this but as a Dou Zhe, any rank three Magic Beast that appears in this inner region of the Magic Beast Mountain Range would be able to easily finish me off.” Xiao Yan laughed bitterly as he waved his hand.

“You need not worry about this. After I break the seal tomorrow, I will use a secret technique that would allow you to gain some strength for a short duration. With this strength, you should be able to enter the inner regions of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. After all, seldom does Magic Beasts enter the cave of the Amethyst Winged Lion.” Yun Zhi said.

Xiao Yan slightly nodded his head.

“Put this crystal on. As long as you are near the Purple Spirit Crystal, it will become hot. You will just need to rely on its temperature to find the Purple Spirit Crystal.” Yun Zhi removed a dark green rhombus shaped crystal from her storage ring and handed it over to Xiao Yan as she spoke with a smile.

Xiao Yan received the crystal and hung it around his neck. Then he lifted his head, he smiled, “I will do my best.”

Watching Xiao Yan’s smile, Yun Zhi slightly inclined her head. Having said all that needed to be said, the two no longer had any topic to converse. The atmosphere once again became silent.

“Go and rest. I still need to train for a little while.” Xiao Yan broke the silence and threw Yun Zhi a smile. He sat crossed legged on a stone platform at the side, closed his eyes and entered into a training mode.

Seated on the stone bed, Yun Zhi stared at the young man with a handsome face for a long while before she lightly sighed. She slowly lay down and mumbled to herself, “Go to sleep. Once you wake tomorrow, you will forget everything.”

A long while after the stony cave was silent, the closed eyed Xiao Yan who was in training suddenly opened his eyes. He turned his head and watched the sleeping beauty, Yun Zhi, lying on the stone bed. Slowly getting off the stone platform, he came to the bedside and swept his gaze over the elegant and attractive curves. Finally, his eyes landed on the beautiful face with a slightly knitted eyebrows.

Xiao Yan’s gaze stared intently at this pretty face that he may never get the chance to look directly at ever again. After a moment, Xiao Yan withdrew a huge black robe from his storage ring and lightly placed it over Yun Zhi’s body before turning around and walking towards the cave entrance with the large Heavy Xuan Ruler on his back. Night was the time when the Magic Beasts were most active so he needed to maintain watch at all times.

When Xiao Yan turned around, the closed eyed sleeping Yun Zhi abruptly opened her eyes. She quietly looked at the disappearing back of a figure carrying the strange looking black colored large ruler. Her hand caressed the black robe covering her body and within her serene heart, unknown ripples had begun to rise.

“Ah…” A soft sigh from within the cave slowly died.

…

When the warm dawn shined upon the sleeping Xiao Yan, his sleepy eyes began to open. At the moment he did so, he suddenly and swiftly turned his head around.

Yun Zhi was sitting crossed legged on the stone bed in the cave. The strange looking longsword was placed on her legs. Today, she had changed into a snow white plain dress and her originally lazy looking phoenix hair style had once again been gathered together, giving off a faint noble feeling. Her beautiful face was calm and elegant, leaving no trace of the weakness that she had the last few days.

Appearing as though she had felt Xiao Yan waking up, Yun Zhi’s eyes also opened. Her beautiful pupils swept towards Xiao Yan as she faintly asked, “Awake?”

The voice was as clear as it had always been, but this time around, it carried a little coldness. The indifferent tone was similar to that of a conversation between strangers.

After sweeping his gaze on Yun Zhi, Xiao Yan slowly sighed. He tilted his head and asked, “The seal, is it broken?”

“Yes.” Yun Zhi nodded emotionlessly and moved her body slightly. When she next appeared, she was standing right in front of Xiao Yan. She lowered her pretty eyes, stared at Xiao Yan’s face and said, “Let’s get going. Once we are outside, I will help to temporarily raise your strength.”

Once she finished her sentence, she turned around and lead the way towards the exit with her alluring and graceful footsteps.

Lifting his head, Xiao Yan watched the back of the beautiful figure leaving the cave and suddenly said, “I like the Yun Zhi of the past few days… I don’t really like the you now.”

At the cave exit, the beautiful figure stilled. She stayed at the same spot for a moment before once more opening her stride and exiting the cave.