Yuchu's Purpose

In the dead of night, when all was quiet, A frail, slender young girl supported a man step by step across the courtyard, arriving at the doors of the main wing. Open door, close door. *Thud!* A muffled impact resounded. The instant they crossed the threshold, Tianyan—a look of utter distaste on her face—hurled Xu Yuan across a dozen meters straight onto a soft, spacious bed. Tianyan stared at the drunken Xu Yuan sprawled across the mattress. Xu Yuan continued to lie there in his drunken stupor, seemingly dead to the world. A few moments of silence ticked by. Xu Yuan let out a soft sigh, rubbed his bruised shoulder, and said with a chuckle, "As childhood sweethearts who grew up leaning on each other to survive, I really think you could stand to be a bit gentler." Tianyan shot him a sideways glance, ignoring his cheek, and walked over to sit at the mahogany table in the center of the room. "Why did you pretend to be drunk?" Xu Yuan pushed himself up, walked over to sit beside Tianyan, and countered, "If I hadn't pretended to be drunk, where would we have slept tonight? We're strangers in an unfamiliar place, and we don't have a single copper or silver tael to our names." Tianyan gave him another look, mildly surprised by his meticulous thinking, and asked, "Alright. You heard everything they were talking about earlier, didn't you?" "Naturally," Xu Yuan said. "What do you think?" "What do I think?" Xu Yuan grinned. "I think right now, the question is what you think." The identity Tianyan occupied was destined to become the Meishen tree spirit, and now that the Meishen cherry tree had already appeared, history dictated that she would be refined into a spiritual essence spirit. Tianyan's face darkened slightly. "Do you have a plan?" "Your current physical constitution isn't the same as Wang Yuchu's back then. If this illusion truly mirrors reality, it shouldn't fall on you." "Refining a spiritual essence spirit doesn't depend on physical constitution; it depends on the intent-soul." "Your intent-soul..." "The Heavenly Yan divine soul." "Then there's no helping it. If you get refined into a spiritual essence spirit, it saves me the trouble of doing it myself." Xu Yuan burst into laughter. Tianyan stared at him coldly without uttering a word. After locking eyes for several breaths, Xu Yuan threw his hands up in a mock French salute and laughed. "Alright, joking aside, with our relationship, there's no way I'd just sit back and watch them refine you into a spiritual essence spirit. I'll help you." Tianyan's voice remained cool and aloof. "Xu Changtian, save the pretty words. If I get refined into a spiritual essence spirit, you won't make it out either." Xu Yuan did not refute her. From the conversations among that flock of pampered scions at the earlier banquet, it was easy to tell: Not only was Jinghe exceptionally talented in cultivation, but he had also seized first place in the last grand sect competition among the second-generation disciples. If Tianyan were refined into a spiritual essence spirit, given the close bond between the two who had grown up leaning on each other, the sect would never allow such a powerful man harboring rancor and ill intent to live. To eradicate the weeds, one had to pull them up by the roots. Back in the day, Jinghe had likely been refined into the Leech King precisely for this reason. And besides that, there was another matter Xu Yuan had to consider. Ever since entering this illusion, one question had constantly occupied his thoughts: The Meishen tree spirit's purpose in creating this illusion. Unless someone was utterly deranged, whatever they did had to have an underlying logic. Yuchu had been lucid in her final moments. She had intentionally sent him into this selfless illusion in a lucid state, so she definitely had a purpose. Ten thousand years ago, one became a cherry tree, and the other became a leech. Xu Yuan knew what had transpired between her and Jinghe. By drawing him into the illusion with his faculties intact, was she hoping he would alter that outcome? Surely Yuchu hadn't detonated herself on the brink of death to create such a miraculous illusion just to sit back and watch the tragedy repeat itself, had she? Amidst his swirling thoughts, Xu Yuan eventually let out a faint sigh. He truly despised people who spoke in riddles. In any case, he could be considered to have helped Wang Yuchu resolve an obsession that had weighed on her for ten thousand years. Couldn't she have shared a bit more useful information before self-destructing? A single "thank you," A single "I'm sorry"— Who on earth could guess what she had pulled him in here to do based on just that? Reining in his thoughts, Xu Yuan said in a low voice, "Actually, there's no need for us to worry too much about this for the moment. Wang Yuchu was only refined into the Meishen cherry tree's spiritual essence spirit after she became the Saintess of the Qionghua Sect. Right now, you're merely an ordinary second-generation disciple. We just need to find a way out before then." Tianyan paused slightly upon hearing that. She caught the anomaly in Xu Yuan's words. Why... did this fellow know that Wang Yuchu was only refined into a spiritual essence spirit after becoming the Saintess? After a moment's contemplation, Tianyan gave Xu Yuan a deep, lingering look. Tactfully, she chose not to probe that point and shifted the subject instead. Those profligate scions of the Qionghua Sect were essentially unguarded around the two of them, which had allowed them to glean plenty of useful intelligence during their casual banter. The title of Saintess carried vastly different weight depending on the sect. In some sects, a Saintess held purely exalted status; in others, she was in charge of sacrificial rites and grand ceremonies; in yet others, she was recognized outright as the designated successor to the sect, equivalent to a dynasty's Crown Prince. The Saintess and Holy Son of the Qionghua Sect belonged to the former category. It was merely a symbol of status; aside from receiving far better resources and treatment than other disciples, the position held no real authority within the sect. At present, the post of Holy Son in the Qionghua Sect happened to be vacant, as the previous Holy Son had died during an outside trial the year before last, and the sect's high echelon currently showed no signs of rushing to select a new one. Thus, she and he still had some time. As the two of them discussed their subsequent plans, Xu Yuan suddenly thought of something and murmured, "Tianyan, you must have noticed it by now, haven't you?" "Noticed what?" Tianyan asked. Xu Yuan pointed toward the sundial resting in the courtyard and said quietly, "Time flows at a different rate within this illusion compared to the outside world." "......" Tianyan's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, followed by swift comprehension. It was a simple truth: if time in the illusion moved at the same pace as reality, she might already be dead. Although she had cast a "Shield" True Word over her physical body before losing consciousness in the real world, her soul was trapped inside the illusion. A few hours would have been more than enough for Ran Qingmo to shatter that "Shield" True Word—not to mention that the traitorous Holy Venerable was right beside Xu Yuan... At that thought, Tianyan's train of thought ground to a halt. Wait. The traitorous Holy Venerable? Tianyan turned to Xu Yuan, her beautiful eyes wide with bewilderment. Noticing her expression, Xu Yuan asked in mild surprise, "What is it?" Tianyan said nothing, merely pointing at the index finger where he had previously worn the soul ring. "......" A sudden silence fell over the room. From the moment they entered the illusion until now, both he and she had overlooked one thing. Ran Qingmo had been farther away and wasn't present at the scene, but the Saint's remnant soul resided directly on Xu Yuan—yet he had not been pulled into the illusion. After a long silence, Xu Yuan probed, "Tianyan, do you know why the Saint's remnant soul wasn't dragged into this illusion?" The dazzling cherry blossoms that had swept him into this place were clearly aimed at the intent-soul. As a soul body, there was no reason the Saint's remnant soul would have been spared. Tianyan pondered for a good while before her melodious voice sounded, tinged with hesitation: "If it were any other illusion, that traitorous Holy Venerable might have possessed the means to break free. But escaping the Meishen tree spirit's illusion should have been virtually impossible for him, unless..." She paused, her gaze turning peculiar as she looked at Xu Yuan. "...Unless the Meishen tree spirit intentionally chose not to draw him in." "Why?" "How should I know why?" "......" Silence fell over the room once more. Xu Yuan and Tianyan simply stared at each other in bewilderment.