Chapter 37: Chapter 34 First Encounter
"Ye Chen, you've passed the third trial! You will enter the Inner Mansion of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode with Jiang Yao!"
The voice of Qian Jizi echoed within and beyond the Fire and Water Dao for a long time.
"The third trial, I've finally broken through the third trial!"
Ye Chen clenched his fists tightly and stood up from his seated meditation.
After tackling the "Fire Rune Chart" against the Fire Armored Warriors and comprehending the Wind-Thunder Ambience in the "Mirror Light Spirit Wall," he had now also triumphed over the "Burn of Ten Thousand Fires," successfully tempering his will and passing the trial!
All three trials, the entire Outer Mansion of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode, he had completed them all and finally qualified to enter the Inner Mansion of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode!
"Jiang Yao, Elder Qian Jizi said that I will enter the Inner Mansion of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode with Jiang Yao."
"Jiang Yao... this name sounds so familiar."
When he heard this name in Qian Jizi's words, Ye Chen felt as if he had heard it somewhere before. In a flash of thought, he remembered.
"Is it her?"
"The Senior Sister Jiang Yao everyone was discussing back in the Qingyun Sect's disciple square?"
Ye Chen still remembered hearing about the remarkable feats of Senior Sister Jiang Yao, how at sixteen she had advanced beyond the twelfth layer of True Qi and entered the Spirit Sea Realm, making her the top talent of all thirty-six sects in the eastern region of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom!
Back then, he had even seen a portrait of Jiang Yao, a girl of such beauty that it stirred a ripple in his heart.
At that time, Ye Chen thought that perhaps one day, once he became strong, he'd be able to meet Senior Sister Jiang Yao herself in person. Yet now, inside the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode, he had unexpectedly heard her name! Was she the one who would be navigating the Inner Mansion with him?!
"Is it really that Senior Sister Jiang Yao?"
Thinking of the beautiful girl in the portrait, and those enchanting, clear eyes, Ye Chen couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.
"Let's go."
"Ye Chen, come with me to the Inner Mansion and meet Jiang Yao."
At that moment, in the corridor, the projected image of Qian Jizi appeared in front of Ye Chen. With a wave of his hand, the obstruction at the end of the corridor shattered, and a brilliant light flooded in from ahead.
Qian Jizi strode forward, and Ye Chen took a deep breath, following closely behind, as they both stepped out of the Fire and Water Dao corridor.
…
"Ape Elder, I can finally enter the Inner Mansion, I can finally enter the Inner Mansion!"
Outside the Fire and Water Dao, in the Outer Mansion of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode, as Jiang Yao heard Qian Jizi's lingering voice, her snow-white face blossomed like a pear flower, her waterfall-like hair gently swaying. Her entire being became more vibrant, filled with boundless excitement and joy.
After three years of waiting, and repeated disappointments, she hadn't found a companion to enter the Inner Mansion with, unable to access the Inner Mansion of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode.
Now, this youth, Ye Chen, had finally realized this wish, and would enter the Inner Mansion with her. She could finally see what the Inner Mansion of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode was really like!
"Ye Chen, thank you," Jiang Yao murmured with her rosy lips.
Witnessing the girl's excitable bounce, the Three-Eyed Giant Ape's enormous face also showed a smile.
"Let's go and meet that Ye Chen!"
"The Inner Mansion of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode is very different from the Outer Mansion!"
"Now that I think about it, it has been over twenty years since I last entered the Inner Mansion!"
As the Three-Eyed Giant Ape spoke, on one side of the Outer Mansion's wall, a massive passageway thunderously opened up. This passageway was the transport route from the Outer Mansion to the Inner Mansion.
"Let's go, Ape Elder!"
"Let's go."
The Three-Eyed Giant Ape and Jiang Yao, one after the other, flew into the passageway in the wall.
…
Meanwhile, as Ye Chen passed the three trials of the Outer Mansion and was heading to the Inner Mansion of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode with Qian Jizi to meet Jiang Yao and explore the even more mysterious realm,
over a thousand miles away from where the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode stood, on a mountain peak of Qingyun Sect's outer region, a tall and beautiful girl was slightly furrowing her brows with worry showing in her eyes.
"Ye Chen, he's been missing for over ten days now, and we have no idea what's become of him."
"There are rumors that he killed Zhou Hai, Zhou Hai of the Seventh Layer of True Qi, could he really have been killed by Ye Chen?"
If Ye Chen had seen this tall girl, he would certainly have recognized her as none other than Lin Jing, the Qingyun Sect outer disciple who had teamed up with him to enter Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.
"That Zhou Hai's father, Zhou Yuntian, is a mid-stage Spirit Sea Realm expert, and is also an elder of the Seventh Grade sect, Heavenly Net Sect, a man even our leader of Qingyun Sect must show respect for! Now that Zhou Yuntian has completely lost his mind, he's been frantically searching everywhere for Ye Chen.
All of us who teamed up with Ye Chen to enter the mountain have been personally interrogated by him. If it weren't for my father pleading for us, I'm afraid we would all have died at Zhou Yuntian's hands!"
Thinking back to Zhou Yuntian's furious appearance, Lin Jing's heart trembled.
"What should Ye Chen do? Zhou Yuntian is looking for him, how can he possibly escape?"
Whenever Lin Jing thought of the young man who hunted the Silver-striped Snake Demon with her, the same one along with the obsession of Zhou Hai, her eyes filled with worry.
...
Heavenly Net Sect, hundreds of miles away from Qingyun Sect.
At the moment, inside the cave abode of Elder Zhou Yuntian of the Heavenly Net Sect, he was extremely furious. His entire abode was oppressed by a powerful aura of True Qi, making it hard for anyone to breathe.
"Useless fools, all of you are useless!"
"A whole living man, and you all can't find him, can he possibly fly to the sky or something?"
At this moment, in the cave abode, a large number of Heavenly Net Sect disciples were kneeling, each of them all surpassing the Ninth Layer of True Qi. However, they did not dare to breathe too heavily, fearful of angering Elder Zhou and being killed by him in a fit of rage.
Facing the furious Spirit Sea Realm expert, their realms of the Ninth or Tenth Layer of True Qi stood no chance at all.
"Search, even if you must turn Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain upside down, find that Ye Chen!"
"And keep a close watch on Qingyun Sect as well. If he shows up there, seize him immediately for me!"
Zhou Yuntian's eyes were bloodshot as he stared outside the cave abode, gritting his teeth.
"Ye Chen, no matter where you flee, I will capture you and tear you to pieces, to comfort my son Hai in the spirit of heaven!"
...
"This is the Inner Mansion of Thousand Lotus Cave Abode?"
The winds outside Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain surged, but Ye Chen paid them no mind. At the moment, following Qian Jizi, he had come to a world filled with fresh breeze and the fragrance of flowers, a chattering of birds.
He had assumed the Inner Mansion of Thousand Lotus Cave Abode would be similar to the Outer Mansion, a sealed hall, but unexpectedly, this place turned out to be a different kind of beautiful world.
Looking into the distance, he could see a vast expanse of beautiful green lotus leaves swaying in a lake. Further away, there even stood a towering mountain, rising into the clouds.
As Ye Chen was taking in the sights of the Inner Mansion of Thousand Lotus Cave Abode, suddenly there came the sound of flying from behind.
He turned around as though sensing something and caught sight of a girl in a light blue robe flying towards him, near the Three-Eyed Giant Ape.
Her waterfall-like black hair floated behind her, and her pure, flawless skin, delicate face, pert nose, and rosy lips all radiated breathtaking beauty.
There were also her clear, starry eyes gleaming brightly, with a slight smile as she looked at Ye Chen.
When he saw those eyes, Ye Chen's heart exploded with a "bang," overwhelmed by an indescribable sensation that swept through his entire body.
"Jiang Yao."
"She truly is the Sister Jiang Yao whose portrait I have seen!"
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