296 If Life Could Be Like the Moment When We First Met Part Eigh

There was not a single moment in which the space within the plains was notincessantly changing. Other than the monsters that lived within them,intelligent beings that came from the outside would find it very hard tounderstand the rules that governed these changes. As the old saying went: therecannot be an exit without an entrance. Just as Chen Changsheng was stressingover exactly this, the Yellow Paper Umbrella suddenly pointed in a certaindirection—perhaps it was not the best choice, much less the correct one, but itwas a path nonetheless. That would always be much better than aimlesslywandering without a destination. It was just like a difficult homeworkquestion. No matter how bitterly you racked your brains over it, it stillremained unsolved. Suddenly, a classmate of yours gives you an answer. You haveno idea of whether he's deceiving you or consoling you, but besides writingthis answer upon your paper, what other choice did you have? Notwithstandingthe fact that the strand of sword intent truly did exist, for what reason wouldthe Yellow Paper Umbrella hold enmity to him and send him to an early grave? Chen Changsheng finally decided upon the direction he would walk. Although hisbody was still weak and drowsiness wrapped around his body like a snake, hismind had been appeased. He sat down by Xu Yourong, leaning against that pile ofcrystals. He staved off the onset of somnolence as he stared into her eyes,waiting for her to wake up. After who knows how long had passed, Xu Yourong's eyelashes fluttered and sheroused from her sleep. The two transparent pools of water formed by fresh rainover the bare mountains once again rested on Chen Changsheng's eyes, renderinghim speechless. Exactly as it had been in the cave when he had woken up, theywere so very close to each other, staring into each other’s eyes. However, hereyes had no panic, no shyness, no wariness, much less fear now. There was onlycalmness. Her eyes were extraordinarily clear, free of dust and sophistication. Theywere like the eyes of a newly born infant. On the other hand, the ocularserenity also seemed to allude to having beheld the red dust of the mortalworld, to have experienced all worldly things. They seemed like the eyes of anelderly man watching the rain. But these two feelings were not in conflict.When mixed together, they engendered a profound and indescribable charm. Perhaps because he was too tired, or maybe because her eyes were tooenchanting, but Chen Changsheng did not avert his gaze. Lying on a pile of grass, separated by not even a foot, a young man and ayoung lady calmly stared into each other's eyes. However, they could not look into each other's eyes forever. Interestingly,the first one to turn away out of shame, or perhaps nerves, was Chen Changsheng. He somewhat uncomfortably shifted his gaze, flitting his eyes towards thegrass not too far away, and said, "You're awake?" Of course she was awake. He was merely finding something to say in order tospark conversation. Just like Zhexiu at the other end of the plains, ChenChangsheng was also rather unskilled at the art of interaction, especially withmembers of the opposite sex. However, these words truly possessed anothermeaning. Xu Yourong softly acknowledged that she was awake. Chen Changsheng replied, "Let's switch places then." Xu Yourong slightly raised her brows. "Hm?" Chen Changsheng said, "You’ve slept for a long time, so now it's my turn." When he regained consciousness in the cave, he knew that the girl had savedhim. Soon after, she had left him with a few words before sinking into a deepsleep. This had placed immense pressure on him, as if both of their worlds hadbeen placed on his shoulders. Only now when he confirmed that she was trulyawake did he finally relax. Once he gave their two worlds worth of burdens to the awake her, he wouldfinally be able to rest. As soon as he thought of this, exhaustion swept overhim like a tide, submerging him from head to toe, filling in every pore,sinking into his muscles and bones, and even his spiritual world. Not waitingfor any response from Xu Yourong, he closed his eyes and began to sleep.Perhaps he went as far as to have fainted. Just like Chen Changsheng in the cave, Xu Yourong was caught completelyoff-guard. After staring vacantly at him for a while, she finally broke out ofher stupor. With the flattened grass as support, she laboriously sat herselfup. Only then did she notice the pile of precious crystals by her side. As sheswept her gaze across her surroundings, she realized that she was in theplains. This made her silent for a very long time. In the end, she had still been forced into these plains. Then was there stilla possibility of getting out? Relying upon her illustrious Dao heart, she expelled these disorderly thoughtsfrom her sea of consciousness and entered into Meditative Introspection. Sherealized that although her vision was clearer than it had been this morning,Nanke's poison still remained within her body, continuously corroding her bodyand sea of consciousness. However, the biggest problem was that her bloodlinewere almost drained. It was not that she was severely lacking in true essence, although this wasalso the case, but that she was almost out of blood. Blood was the basis of all life. Without blood, there was no life. In reality,based on the injuries she had incurred this morning, she should have still beenin the grips of unconsciousness and not awake—her body would require more bloodto be awake and move around. Since she had awoken, it indicated that hersituation had taken a turn for the better. She saw the remnants of the snake corpse on the grass, and then muttered toherself. She could tentatively guess at what had happened, her gaze at ChenChangseng turning soft. Fellow human cultivators being chased by demonsproviding each other support—this was as it should be. Chen Changsheng hadalready proved through his actions that he was not someone who would abandonhis companion, so of course she would have to do her part. She lightly placedher right hand on his pulse. Chen Changsheng’s pulse was mysteriously slow, more than three times slowerthan that of the average person, and yet its beat was very steady. Although itseemed somewhat weak and disorderly, it gave a completely different feelingfrom the pulse of a person at their deathbed. Back then, in the early morning, when they were on the patch of reeds, she hadtaken his pulse and even made some calculations with her Fated Star Plate. Ithad been clear that this person was not to live long, so why was he stillalive? She pondered this and decided that it had something to do with the pureyin coldness in his body. She gazed at Chen Changsheng and silently thought toherself, the continent really does have hidden dragons and crouching tigers.Even the Snow Mountain Sect, whose glory days are long behind it, could not beunderestimated. Just as she turned her gaze, the grass began to resound with snoring. Becauseof his heavy injuries and how long he had carried her, and also because he hadresisted the Black Dragon's hibernation, Chen Changsheng had long ago beencompletely exhausted. Now that he could finally relax, he had entered anincomparably sweet and sound sleep. Let alone his thunderous snoring, even ifthere was actual thunder, it would still be impossible for him to wake up. From time to time, the soundly sleeping Chen Changsheng would smack his lips,as if he was eating something tasty in his dreams. Occasionally, he would alsoball up his fists and stamp his legs, making him seem like a little baby. XuYourong could not help but smile at this scene. However, at this moment, the sound of a zither came from deep within theplains. Xu Yourong's expression did not change, but a hint of caution appeared in hereyes. She could not forget that the old zither-player was an elder of the CandleShadow Shaman Tribe, and what the shaman tribe was most skilled at wasmanipulating poisons and monsters. Furthermore,the space within the Plains ofthe Unsetting Sun was warped. She had only been awake for a few moments, butthat was all the time needed for her to understand this mystery. Even so, noteven warped space could block sound, and, moreover, the monsters hidden withinthe plains most definitely had some means of moving freely through the plains. Her eyes, shimmering like mountain dew, rested upon the water, growing coldonce the calm surface began to ripple. The shallow ripples seemed likecountless insects crawling along the surface of the water as they fanned out inall directions, but there was, in truth, nothing. They were merely theaftermath of commotion from either afar or deep underground.. A strand of condensed spiritual sense followed her sight and was sent into thedistance, sweeping through the dense grass and the thick mud beneath. Perception had always involved both sides, thus the beings hidden deep withinthe grass and the ooze clearly sensed her Qi. It was a Qi from ancient times, grand and noble beyond comparison. Restless noises arose from far off in the plains, followed by countlessrustling sounds. The sources of some of the underground vibrations were alsoquietly retreating. Xu Yourong's Qi had in some compacted form been sent allaround the plains. Many of the monsters who had been stimulated by the zitherinto hunting for prey had, one by one, made their escape, but… there werenumerous monsters who did not change their direction. Xu Yourong's Qi was, without question, a most noble and powerful Qi, but inher weakened situation, for these monsters, it was also the most delectable. If at this moment there was someone up in the sky that could look down on theplains, they would see that the grass within the surrounding few dozen licontained the figures of countless monsters. Like a tide, they slowly encircledthe place where she and Chen Changsheng were located. And even more chillingwas the fact that, despite all these monsters roving about, none of them made asound. With a gentle breeze, a pair of snow-white wings appeared behind her back. While she was sleeping, she had recovered some of her true essence andregained some blood, but now she used them all up without hesitation. She turned to Chen Changsheng, preparing to extend her hand and grab his belt,but she stopped halfway for some reason. This circle of several dozen li had already been turned into a battlefield bythose countless monsters, but the true danger had yet to rear its head. It layoutside the battlefield, at an even farther place. The dense grass of the plains cast a dark shadows on the water. The shadowsconcealed several hundred demon vultures. Those demon vultures were covered with gray feathers, and their black beakswere even sharper than the average sword. Even more frightening were the gazes of these demon vultures, cold andmerciless, sharp to the extreme. Whether it was a sword or their pointed beaks,neither of them could compare to their gazes. This species of monster was highly intelligent, its attacks extremely strange,and its flying speed extremely fast. In the outside world, they dwelled in themountains of the northeast. One demon vulture alone could slay the averageMeditation cultivator. Thankfully, the demon vultures were extremely rare onthe Eastern Continent. However, who could have imagined that there would be somany of them in the Garden of Zhou? There were several hundred demon vultures present, but not a single one movedits wings. All of them stared out into the plains at a particular place, theireyes cruel and thirsty for blood, and their demeanor terrifyingly calm. From an even farther place came the faint sound of the zither. Amongst thereeds, the grey silhouettes of the vultures seemed sinister beyond compare. Xu Yourong turned her body, gazing far off into the distance. She did not know what dangers were concealed out there, nor did she take outher Fated Star Plate, but she knew that taking to the air was not a goodchoice. She was still severely injured and was incapable of exhibiting herfastest speed, nor could she properly orient herself in this plain. If shechose to fly, there was a high possibility of dying. The azure sky above the plains seemed vast and limitless, as if she couldfreely stretch her wings. In reality and on the contrary, it was exceptionallydangerous.