Chapter 2 — Tu Lien Ky

I frowned slightly, my heart trembled, I unconsciously took a step back, then took the opportunity to remove his hand. But Thien Trach thought I was scared, so he laughed softly, his eyes were gentle, his fingers gently touched the bridge of my nose, his voice was like a gentle spring breeze passing through his ears: "Little coward, don't worry." “Even if you fall… no matter when or where you are, I will come save you.” I stopped and looked up at him. That promise... is so beautiful that it makes my heart tremble, but at the same time so fragile that I don't dare believe it. In the end... in that statement, how much is true, how much is fake? Just then, a cry for help tore through the still surface of the lake. I quickly turned my head, then a white shadow suddenly rushed towards me - the divine fortune was like a beam of light shooting straight at me! “Thanh Dao!” My body shot straight out, teetering on the edge, falling towards the abyss. Instinctively, I reached out towards Thien Trach. The fingertips could almost touch his hand, just a very small distance away, a thread of air in the sky. His eyes were slightly panicked, his pupils constricted, but - That look... was not on me. I suddenly stopped, turned around with inertia, and saw behind me... Can Tuyet Du! Her divine fortune, after knocking me out, did not stop, pulling her along, falling straight into the endless abyss. The sound of the wind was cold. Her voice screamed through the clouds: "Di Quan! Save me!!!" At that moment, I hadn't even had time to hold Thien Trach's hand... But he... had already turned around. The hands that once promised "no matter where you are, I will save you"... Now reaching out towards someone else. Thien Trach did not hesitate even for a moment. He rushed up, his body like silver light, hugged Can Tuyet Du tightly in his chest, then slowly landed in front of the waterfall. From beginning to end — He didn't spare me a single glance. … It turns out… he tricked me again. At that moment, my chest felt like it was being torn apart, my heart was ripped out of my chest, my blood flowed coldly into my bones. I turned my head and looked up at the sky, where the colorful clouds rolled, the reflected light seemed to tease. Meanwhile, my body is constantly falling. The wind roared in my ears, every inch of my skin was swept by the storm, cold to the core. I want luck, I want to summon magic power, but - A little... I can't gather it. The whole body seemed to fall into an empty abyss, spiritual energy was scattered, and the mind was broken. I gently closed my eyes, letting go of all resistance, only hearing the wind roaring in my ears and the sound of my heart breaking in my chest. — “Boom!” The heavy body hit the cold hard ground. The bones of the whole body seemed to be crushed, every inch of skin and flesh was painful to the point of numbness. Except for pain, I can no longer feel anything. … When consciousness returns, we feel a strong pull on our ankles. His whole body was dragged along the ground, his skin rubbing against the cold stone floor, burning pain spreading along his waist and limbs. The sharp pain in my ankle was as sharp as a knife, making my heart convulse, making every breath tremble. The abyss is dark and quiet, all sides are pitch black, so cold that even the breath turns into white mist. I gritted my teeth, trying to force myself to use my magic power. But the whole body's meridians were disordered, the vital energy was scattered, and only a small amount of spiritual energy could be mobilized. Finally, I reluctantly condensed a speck of light in my heart hand. The weak light swayed in the darkness, making the surroundings suddenly clear. And then, we see it. The thing that was binding my feet was a black vine, winding like a snake, the sharp thorns on its body glinting with evil light, as if it were alive. My eyes trembled, I blurted out in horror: "... Truly... is... Truly Tam Dang." (Heart-eating vines) This ancient monster, specializing in sucking the spiritual energy and primordial spirit of fairies, was once recorded in the Ancient Chi Di - a place where once entangled, nine parts die, one part lives. The light in his hand trembled. The vines tightened slightly, as if one could hear the sound of a heartbeat, crawling up every inch of skin. A cold chill ran down my spine. I know... this time, I'm afraid it will be difficult to escape. It is a species of ghost that has a completely black body, a soft, winding body, and is covered with cold, sharp thorns. When those thorns penetrate the skin, they secrete an ancient toxin that penetrates deep into the internal organs, causing the heart to burn, the soul to be torn apart, and the pain to the point that life is worse than death. Waiting until their prey is tortured to death, they will drag the body down to the deep roots, bury it tightly in moist soil, absorb all flesh and blood and vitality, using it as nutrients to grow. I don't understand why ancient monsters like Thuc Tam Dang appeared in the Heavenly World, but I know that if I were pulled into their roots... There would be no way to live. I clenched my teeth, my luck forced my spiritual energy, one by one to break through the clogged meridians. Fresh blood rose in my throat, a strong fishy taste filled my mouth, but I still swallowed every drop, not allowing myself to be weak. Finally, a sword light gathered in the palm of his hand, shot out like lightning, and slashed the vines wrapped around his ankle. — “Whoosh!” Blood splashed. Before I could breathe out, suddenly... "One way is broken, a hundred ways are broken." As if touching a devil's nest, the remaining vines screamed and rushed from all directions, bristling like poisonous snakes. I rolled on the cold stone floor, rolling around to avoid it, but in the end, a branch of Thuc Tam Dang wrapped around my arm like a dragon, squeezing so tightly that my bones were almost broken. “Ah—!” Sharp thorns pierced the flesh, hot toxins immediately poured into the meridians, like countless fires burning in the chest. I screamed, the hiss broke my throat, tears rolled down like broken dew drops. A feeling of regret throbbed and tore my soul: If... I hadn't wasted seventy thousand years that year. If we don't let morality stagnate just because of a romantic promise. So today... how can a small monster be oppressed to this extent?! My breathing was disordered, my lips trembled, a hoarse call emerged, as if from the bottom of blood tears: "Hao Thien Trach..." You said you would protect me for the rest of my life. You once swore that you would never betray me forever. But now… where are you? The poison penetrates deeply, the heart feels like it is being gnawed by millions of ants, every line of blood in the body seems to be burned in red fire. Feeling so much pain, I suddenly laughed softly - a hoarse laugh, colder than the wind at the bottom of the abyss. I exhausted my spiritual energy, and in the blink of an eye, my breath rushed throughout my body, sword light flashed, the wind roared, and the rocks rolled down with a loud noise. It seemed that Thuc Tam Dang also felt my killing intent, the entire vines suddenly took a step back, like living beings. sentient beings, then — “Pop!” They threw us out hard! My body was thrown far away, rolling on the cold ground, the repeated impacts made my chest bone feel like it had been hit by a big hammer, a choking breath rose up into my throat, — “Phew!” Fresh blood sprayed into bright red streaks, glowing like fireworks in the dark night. Strangely, after vomiting that mouthful of blood, the pain in his chest subsided somewhat, and breathing became a little easier. But before he could breathe, a sky-shattering scream rang out from above — “CREAM!!!” A sharp, cold sound like a blade piercing the brain. Before I could turn around, a force as strong as thunder hit my shoulder, tearing my skin and lifting me off the ground! My body is like a ball of silk, grabbed, then thrown far away. Before I could fall, sharp claws pulled me up again, then threw me away again. — Once, then once. Each impact seemed to tear through the meridians, the skin was torn apart, and fresh blood flowed. I clenched my teeth, bit my lower lip, the smell of blood mixed with my ragged breathing. My hands trembled, I clutched the weeds on the ground, my nails sinking deep into the mud, forcing myself to maintain the last bit of balance. But at that moment, a piece of skin on the waist was torn off, flesh and blood exposed, sharp pain to the bone mixed with coldness to the heart. Toxins and blood lost harmony, hot and cold mixed together, the heart seemed to be destroyed by ice and burned by fire at the same time. I'm trembling, but I can't fall down here. I cannot die. Absolutely... cannot die in this place! After going through this life, we can truly understand how important it is to stand firmly between heaven and earth, to protect ourselves. We must return. I must descend to the mortal world, break through the realm that is imprisoning me, break through the bottleneck, to once again... bring radiant glory to the Tu Lien clan! … I don't remember exactly when that giant eagle left, nor do I know how many monsters I encountered along the way. All I know is, during that time, a single thought supported me to continue crawling - I couldn't die. Finally, in front of the bottom of the abyss, a faint ray of light glimmered. I struggled to crawl forward, every inch of my skin was torn by sharp rocks, every mouthful of blood was swallowed back into my stomach... It wasn't until my arm touched the flat ground that I realized - I had crawled out of the abyss. This time, the light of the Golden Umbrella fell, covering my whole body, warm to the heart. But in my chest, there is no place left intact. … When returning to the Immortal Palace, the light from thousands of jade lanterns shined throughout the sky. The red floor is guarded by pearls, music is playing in the sky, there are sounds of congratulations everywhere. Throughout the palace there were lanterns and flowers, the fairies were smiling brightly, dressed in colorful clothes, each word and sound was like a knife piercing straight into my heart, reflecting my own haggard and devastated image. On the high platform, he stood there — Hao Thien Trach.