When Turtle Elf heard that Zhang Yunyan had died, it was both surprised and doubtful. Its friend was alive and was standing in front of it. How could she be dead?
Looking at Yunyan, it could not help but think of itself. It also suspected that it had died, which was self-intimidation.
It did not believe that its friend was dead, and said, “Yun Feiyan, are you trying to frighten us? You are as good as us. How could you be dead? Don’t be paranoid. We’re both alive and we’ve got a lot of things to do.”
Zhang Yunyan was a little surprised and still couldn’t believe it, “Am I really alive? No, it’s impossible. It’s impossible.”
“You are indeed alive, and we all are not dead. Don’t suspect! We must live on.” Shikong said these affirmative words without doubt.
Hearing the words of her two friends, Zhang Yunyan found hope again. It seemed that she was still alive. She was very excited and shed tears of relief.
Yunyan thought of a thing, and the feeling of relief disappeared. She was sad again and began to doubt whether she was alive.
As she looked around, she sighed, “I have been struck by the magic of the jade. It is impossible for me to survive. Besides, there’s water all over the cave, and I’ve gotten drowned already, so how can I still be alive…”
Zhang Yunyan shook her head and sighed again.
The words of their friend were reasonable. Shikong and Turtle Elf began to doubt themselves.
If Zhang Yunyan was not dead, with her low level of practice, she was unable to resist the attack of the jade, and in the cave full of water, she would have gotten drowned. She had no swimming skills, and could not survive in the water. Besides, it had been so long.
But if she had died, she should have been an illusionary soul, not a real body. How could this be explained?
All in all, this strange thing could still not be explained.
Shikong and Turtle Elf still believed that their friend did not die, nor was she seriously injured. Instead, she was alive. As for why Yun Feiyan did not get drowned and die, it was unknown.
Zhang Yunyan dared not to believe it and had to believe it. Maybe she was still alive because of her swimming skills. She had hope and desire, but she still doubted the fact that she could survive after she went through such a blow.
This was wishful thinking. Since she had lost the ability to swim underwater, how could she have the ability again? It was pure imagination.
Hope was hope, and reality was reality. The level of her practice was low, and it was impossible to survive after she was hit by the jade. She couldn’t even move freely in the water.
Jiuyou Sage and the Four King Ghosts were so powerful, but they all failed to escape from the devastating disaster, let alone Zhang Yunyan herself. It was just a pipe dream.
Yunyan had no time to think about her own life. No matter she was alive or she was a dead soul, she must strive for the vows in her heart.
After the earth-shattering disaster, three good friends finally met. Their painful hearts were soothed, and smiles went back to their faces. They kept talking to each other to share the relief and joy.
Nobody could escape the judgement of heaven. Jiuyou Sage and the devils were punished and the good ones were rescued.
Thinking of that earth-shattering sound, and the red light as bright as lightning, Zhang Yunyan still felt scared. In the terrible disaster, they could escape. Even though it was only her soul, it was incredible.
Yunyan could not believe that she was still alive and that she could escape from the disaster where she was bound to die. She was very puzzled about her escape and could not believe that. She was the soul after death. Otherwise, these strange things could be explained.
Zhang Yunyan thought of that piece of jade, and was still afraid, but she also found some comfort.
To her puzzlement, the jade was in her right hand. Why did it slip away? The jade was turquoise. Why did it become as red as charcoal? Why did it have such power to destroy the whole cave? Where did the jade go…?
Perhaps it was all because of the reclusive master. He preset the scene a thousand years ago, allowing the jade to destroy the entire cave. Otherwise, the evil stone would not leave, and change means to detonate the whole cave.
Zhang Yunyan was very sad and angry because the reclusive master did not let her go and wanted to take her life in the end. This was the so-called “friends for years”. This was the so-called “friendship of life and death”. They were all nonsense.
Thinking of Jiuyou Sage and the devils, she was a little relieved. As these devils were buried deep underground, they could no longer do harm to the world.
Unfortunately, she had died, and it seemed that the unfinished wishes were difficult to complete.
Although Yunyan died, her soul was still here, and she had the will to go to the world to complete the mission, which was also a new starting point. In the future, her soul would carry on her ambitions and continue to write a new chapter.
Zhang Yunyan was very happy and glad about this, and she also felt very gratified. Anyway, she was much luckier than the devils, at least her soul had not died.
The existence of the soul was a good starting point. She could continue to practice martial arts to fulfill the vows in her heart and to fight for the missions.
Zhang Yunyan was no longer pessimistic and disappointed. But looking at the dim cave, she sighed. It was too early for her to rejoice in the soul’s survival. She hadn’t escaped from the terrifying cave and seen any hope of going out to the world.
She must continue to seek, strive for the chance for her soul to live on after death, so that she could have a new starting point.
Yunyan knew that there was no hope at front, and it was hard to say whether she could escape from the terrifying “hell”. Although the future was uncertain, she was still sure that as long as the soul stayed, she would struggle and never give up.
Zhang Yunyan was both frightened and puzzled about what had happened. It seemed that there were a lot of mysteries hidden under it.
She could not solve these mysteries, and had no time to think about them. She was eager to explore the final destination of the stream with her two friends, hoping to escape from the terrifying “hell”, and return to the world.
The cave was in zigzag turns, and it was dim and quiet. In the long silence, the clear water was flowing continuously, like endless notes, which made the sweet music of life from ancient times to the present.
It was not the place to stay. Zhang Yunyan, Shikong and Turtle Elf went down by the stream. They did not know how long they had been swimming, but the cave seemed endless with water.
They frowned in anxiety. They didn’t know if there was any danger ahead or any way out or if they could escape from the underground. They could only seek and fight for the slim hope of survival.
Zhang Yunyan looked at the front which was dark and sighed, “The stream water was constantly flowing. It must go somewhere, either deep underground or into rivers and lakes. I think the latter is more likely to happen. Whether rivers are large or small, they will join the sea. This underground river cannot remain underground, or it will be a pool of stagnant water that cannot flow.”
Shikong agreed with her that there was no way to escape if they retreated. No matter what, they must swim to the end. If it was a dead end, they could only accept it, and die deep underground. But it was still better than getting killed by the devils.
Turtle Elf thought they were right, and they must explore and make the last effort. Even if they died, they would feel no regret. Besides, they were unable to avoid death.
They stopped talking about the things they never knew, and sped up.
In the cave, it was dim and the water was clear with no fish or insects, only three huge figures swimming. They were eager to find a new life.
Zhang Yunyan, Shikong and Turtle Elf had swum for so long, and had made so many turns. They found that the water level had decreased, and there was more space exposed.
In swimming, they were praying and struggling, hoping to see the light ahead.
As they turned a corner, they saw a faint light in front of them. They were surprised and hopeful, but they grew more nervous because they didn’t know it was a terrifying disaster or the hope in their hearts.
It was very quiet, and they did not know what the faint light would foretell, what devils they would encounter, and what dangers and disasters they would experience.
They were nervous, not daring to be careless. They were watching carefully.
Zhang Yunyan thought for a while. No matter how dangerous it was, she should accept the consequence herself. She was dead. As a soul, she had nothing to be scared, even if the soul was destroyed.
Besides, Shikong and Turtle Elf were still alive. It was not easy to escape from the terrible disaster. No matter what, she should not let them take the risk, and they must survive.
She told her two friends to wait here and run away as soon as possible if things went wrong.
But how could Shikong and Turtle Elf allow her to risk? Besides, she was a woman. So they all wanted to go.
Zhang Yunyan was very determined. Before they made the decision, she immediately turned away.
Shikong and Turtle Elf had to accept that, but they also prepared for emergency. No matter what terrible dangers and devils there were, they would not retreat. Instead, they will fight with Yun Feiyan. Live or die, they shall stick together.
Yunyan calmed herself down, and went there with quiet movement. She prayed silently that there would be no danger and no terrible monsters.
Zhang Yunyan came to the corner quietly, and dared not to rush to the place. She stuck her head to look around, but couldn’t see things clearly. She was getting more nervous.
There was another turn ahead, and it was also a little brighter. It looked as if it was dangerous ahead.
Was it a cave? Did the faint light come from the mysterious words of fate?
If so, it was too terrible. They would enter the dangerous place, and there might be more monsters and traps. They would encounter more terrible dangers and disasters.
Zhang Yunyan was very nervous. She prayed silently, hoping that there were no demons and monsters and no terrifying traps, otherwise there would be no hope of survival.
Yunyan looked nervous but she was not afraid. She was only left with her soul, and there was nothing to be afraid of. She stretched out her hand to draw out the Magical Dragon Sword, but she didn’t feel the sword. Then she realized that the treasured sword was buried deep underground.
She suddenly remembered that the treasured sword should be in Shikong’s hand, but she just did not pay attention to it. She didn’t know whether her benefactor had lost it or was still keeping it.
The Magical Dragon Sword was her inseparable partner, and at the critical moment, she could not take action without the treasured sword. So she returned immediately.