Two Tianyans?

White frost merged with thin mist as clouds of dusk billowed like an ocean. The dancing firelight from the yin ghost behind them illuminated the enchanting, breathtaking profile of Tianye's face. Dressed in a picturesque black gown, she held a sword horizontally before her with a delicate hand. Turning the blade, a pair of smiling, watery eyes peered through the cold glint reflecting off the steel, gazing at Xu Yuan with deep interest. No words were needed, nor was any introduction required; those unique azure-gold eyes had already revealed the newcomer's identity. The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Saintess, Tianye. Yet compared to Tianyan's immaculate, dust-free holiness, the aura of the woman before him was less like that of a Saintess and more like that of an enchantress who had slaughtered countless souls. A flicker of solemnity crossed Xu Yuan's eyes. Inconspicuously pressing his hand onto Xia Qing's shoulder beside him, he replied with a chuckle, "This Qingfeng sword originally belonged to an elder of your Overseeing Heaven Pavilion. Now that you hold it, Saintess, it can be considered returned to its rightful owner." Tianye raised an eyebrow and giggled softly. "Brother Jinghe is mistaken. Since you managed to seize it, doesn't that sword already belong to you?" Calling someone "brother" the very first time they met... She really was an enchantress through and through. Muttering a critique inwardly, Xu Yuan quietly began circulating the Source Qi within his body, laughing heartily as he said, "Sister Tianye makes a good point. Since you've snatched it back now, then it belongs to you." As he spoke, Void-Treading patterns continuously stacked and engraved themselves within his meridians, while a strand of his qi subtly seeped into Xia Qing's body. He did not know how Tianye had tracked them down, but her appearing here completely unharmed meant something had likely gone wrong with his original plan. Perhaps Tang Ruofu had run into trouble and died while executing the plan, or perhaps Tang Ruofu had disregarded Xia Qing's life and turned back to the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion once he escaped danger. Regardless of which scenario it was, keeping a bomb like Xia Qing by his side was far too dangerous now. If he let her go, she might become a great menace harboring bitter hatred toward them. Killing her now was undoubtedly the best choice. "Seal." Amid his contemplation, a seductive voice seemed to ring directly in Xu Yuan's ears. A Heaven Character True Word spanning a hundred zhang instantly brought the Source Qi in his body to an abrupt halt. Her black skirt swayed, two slender, fair, jade-like legs intermittently visible beneath it as Tianye toyed with the Qingfeng sword in her hand and strolled toward the trio. Her tone was light and teasing: "Brother Jinghe, your great name has long been known to me in the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion. To think you'd try to leave the moment we meet—it truly breaks your little sister's heart..." Feeling the disruption in his Source Qi, Xu Yuan narrowed his long, slender eyes slightly. A long-absent sensation. Ever since he began fleeing for his life alongside Tianyan, he had never again tasted the sensation of his Source Qi being sealed across empty space. He had to admit, facing a user of the Heaven-Deducing Art as an enemy was truly disgusting. "Oh? Your admiration leaves me somewhat flattered, Saintess. But as you see, my humble wife is right beside me today. How about when nobody is around next time, this Jing will have an in-depth exchange with you?" "Hehehe~" A burst of crisp, charming laughter echoed through the silent misty forest. Tianye tilted her head, her eyes brimming with a trace of allure as the soft tip of her tongue licked her seductive red lips. "You want to have an in-depth exchange with me? With Elder Sister right here, wouldn't it be even better?" Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan immediately glanced at Tianyan beside him. He could not understand why this washboard Saintess had stood idling by like an AFK player from the moment Tianye appeared. If he remembered correctly, Heaven Character True Words could clash against one another. Back in the Qionghua secret realm, Old Man Luo had caught Tianyan off guard by breaking her "Seal" True Word with the "Unravel" True Word. If Tianyan had used "Unravel" just now to break the other woman's technique, they would already be planning their escape. Yet as Xu Yuan looked over, Tianyan was not idling at all. Her eyes were fixed tightly on Tianye walking up from below, her azure-gold eyes shimmering with divine light, carrying an unbelievable trace of doubt and suspicion. Noticing Tianyan's abnormal behavior, Xu Yuan frowned slightly and transmitted his intent-soul voice: "Tianyan, what's wrong?" Just as his words faded, Tianyan's warning instantly sounded in Xu Yuan's heart: "She can hear your voice transmission. Something is wrong with this woman..." "Hm?" A soft murmur of confusion interrupted Tianyan's words. Tianye halted her footsteps, her suspicious gaze meeting Tianyan's eyes. Half-squinting her alluring eyes, Tianye asked with slight curiosity, "Elder Sister... why can't I hear your voice transmission?" "..." Tianyan said nothing, but after hearing the woman's words, the uncertainty in her eyes deepened even further. For a time, dead silence spread through this misty ghost forest. After a long while, Tianye sighed softly. "Not answering, then... Blink." "..." The air abruptly froze, and an almost tangible killing intent enveloped the entire clearing. Benefiting from his experience sparring with Tianyan, the moment qi manifested at his side, Xu Yuan's body was already moving a step ahead. It felt like an instant, yet like an eternity. A slender silhouette in a black dress materialized out of the void; Tianye crossed empty space directly, arriving right in front of Tianyan, who hovered in midair. The two women were extremely close, barely a foot apart, two pairs of virtually identical azure-gold eyes shimmering with miraculous light. Tianye stared at Tianyan. "Elder Sister, you—" Blood-Ink Jade! His past sparring experience with Tianyan allowed Xu Yuan to strike the moment Tianye appeared. Using his palm as a blade, a splashed-ink sword scar warped space as it slashed toward Tianye's fair, mutton-fat jade neck. Yet just as the edge of his palm was about to slice open Tianye's slender neck, Tianye's eyes suddenly darted over, her red lips parting slightly: "Brother Jinghe, I have something I want to ask Elder Sister, so forgive me for a moment, okay... "Begone." As the word fell, BOOM!! A powerful repulsive force erupted from around Tianye. The palm blade froze half an inch before Tianye's neck, unable to advance even a fraction. The tremendous repulsive force caused Xu Yuan's boots to sink heavily into the iron-hard tree trunk. Amid flying wood splinters, Xu Yuan was pushed back dozens of yards before halting his momentum. Xia Qing beside him fared far worse. Under Tianye's indiscriminate "Begone" True Word, with both her intent-soul and Source Qi sealed, she was flung backward like an afterimage. After snapping two century-old ancient trees, she crashed into the ground, kicking up a billow of dust. The misty waves drifted hazily. The yin qi gradually waned, and the surrounding environment twisted by the ghost domain gradually returned to normal. As Tianye walked forward, the white frost covering the withered forest beneath her feet rapidly receded, revealing the dark brown soil below. In the entire surrounding expanse, only two slender figures remained suspended in the void. Tianyan's small face was chilly, her youthful voice crisp. "Compared to what you want to know, I also have things I want to find out." Tianye blinked, smiling radiantly. "That works out perfectly. How about one question each?" "...No need." Tianyan stared silently at the enchantress-like Tianye for a moment, then without any warning raised her hand and thrust a finger toward Tianye's chest. "I can do it myself." Contained within that slender fingertip was a heart-palpitating fluctuation. Tianye's pupils constricted sharply. Her body instantly retreated several yards to dodge the finger strike, squinting with a smile: "Elder Sister, you—" Before she could finish, Tianye's pupils contracted once more. A faint yet familiar strand of qi had encircled her body at some unknown point. It was Dao Charm... The next instant, as the world spun around her, an immense twisting force dragged her body straight back to her previous position. And Tianyan's slender fingertip tapped lightly against Tianye's chest. Buzz— Divine light pierced the mist, and everything in the world seemed to freeze at this moment. Yet to Xu Yuan's surprise, Tianyan's finger strike did not cause Tianye any harm. However, upon seeing the scene that unfolded next, Xu Yuan's expression grew exceedingly strange. Before his eyes, Tianye, who had also possessed the petite frame of a young girl, was gradually expanding. No, to be exact, she was growing up at a speed accelerated hundreds or thousands of times over. In just a few breaths, the seventeen-to-eighteen-year-old girl Tianye transformed into an enchantingly voluptuous mature woman. The fabric of her form-fitting black dress emitted strained tearing sounds as the seams gave way under the strain. Yet at this moment, Tianye had no leisure to care about the exposure of her fair skin and jade-like body, staring blankly at the young girl before her. As their gazes met, Tianyan's golden eyes carried a probing scrutiny as she asked, "Hey... "Why isn't your conferred name... Tianyan?"