To the people that attacked them, the encounter with Li Yang's group was a life-changing event, life-ending to some of them even. But to Li Yang and Mei Kongxu, it barely even registered in their minds, their journey continuing as if it hadn't just been interrupted briefly. If there was anything about the meeting that either of them would keep in mind at all then it would be Li Yang making a mental note that mixing his law of speed and his law of gravity on certain parts of his body would allow him to move halfway normally during a fight even with the array active.
The area they were travelling through as they headed for Dead-Branch Ruins was under the direct control of the Fiend's Heart sect so being attacked on the road like that was an extremely rare occurrence. Had the five people not been disciples of a sect that was almost as big as the Fiend's Heart, and that they were confident that they would be able to escape without leaving any traces, there was no way they would have dared to do so.
As a result, the travellers that happened to be going in the opposite direction were the only other people that they met as their wagon made its way along the road. It was a rather peaceful time for the two, which fit Li Yang quite nicely since he had a veritable sea of information about arrays and the like that he had to go through. Of course, he had his dear Wifey at his side so there was no way he would let go of the chance to tease her during the time she was awake. With how much she slept each day, he had to make sure to properly tease her whenever he could, otherwise, he would completely miss his chance.
But time was not a force that would halt for just anyone, it continued its merciless march ever onwards. Days quickly turned to weeks, and before long it had already been five weeks since the two left Cyan Cloud city. They had plenty of food and water stored in their interspatial ring so they didn't have to worry about restocking in any cities, so other than the time the horses needed to restore their water storage and feed, they didn't really stop. And it was thanks to this, as well as the fact that they splurged on which horses they bought, that they reached their second target much quicker than expected.
"Alright, we'll have to get off the road here, the city should be located inside that tangled mess over there."
The tangled mess Li Yang pointed at while talking was a messy forest that stood a few tens of kilometres away from the road. They were quite far away, but the distance wasn't so great that they couldn't see how the trees tangled around each other in a strange manner, some trees even seemed to just grow out of nothing in a sideways manner.
But the truth behind this was that there wasn't a forest here in the past, it was once a sprawling city populated by a bit over a million people. The city fell into ruin and nature reclaimed it, the trees growing sideways had just sprouted out from the side of the buildings, completely covering them so that they couldn't be seen unless you got up close.
"Once it sprawled with life and ambition, but all that remains now is a damp forest whose true nature is only known by the more informed. It really speaks of the futility of life."
Mei Kongxu's usually icy facade receded slightly as she looked at the indiscernible city, what replaced it was a faint glimmer of mournfulness at the inevitable end and repurposing that awaited all things. But Li Yang was far from as serious about it as her, simply grimacing at her remark as he had the horses leave the road.
"Geh, that's just cringey, Wifey, you're looking at it far too seriously."
Li Yang didn't give his own opinion on the matter, nor did Mei Kongxu ask about it. Knowing him she felt like he would only give a teasing answer devoid of any seriousness, it wasn't something fitting for the topic at hand. The wagon left the established road and started to traverse the plain that separated it and the forest, the horses making quick work of the kilometres. But as the carriage reached the part of the plain that was only 10 kilometres away from the city, Li Yang noticed a small change.
"So this time it's you and the horses, huh? Well, the second one might be attributed to the so-called haunting."
The moment they crossed the 10-kilometre mark, the horses started showing clear signs of unease, tossing their heads slightly while releasing subdued growls. And just like he did when they approached Cyan Cloud city, Mei Kongxu started to show signs that she wasn't feeling well. It was just her eyes growing a bit unfocused and her face a bit pale, but that alone was enough of a change, especially since Li Yang had his own experience with it.
"How is it, any visions?"
Mei Kongxu shook her head in response to his question, her brows furrowing deeply as she looked at the distant forest. Li Yang tugged on the reins a bit to calm down the horses and force them forward, glancing sideways at Mei Kongxu as the carriage continued forward. And before long, he also started to feel a slight change in his own state. But strangely enough, he didn't feel sick or the like, he actually started to feel light and refreshed, almost as if he was prancing through the clear sky while taking in the gentle breeze.
It was so diametrically opposed to what he felt when they approached Cyan Cloud city that he couldn't help but be caught off-guard, especially when he looked at Mei Kongxu's rapidly declining state. Her paleness got worse, her breathing got ragged, even her Qi started running a bit rampant, resulting in the wood that the carriage was made of to rot slightly.
"Hm, guess it's my turn to say that I'll head in, you can just wait at a bit of a distance. But I don't imagine that you'd accept that, would you, dear Wifey?"
Just as he expected, Mei Kongxu shook her head, her teeth grit tightly. She probably wanted to know the truth even more than Li Yang, she had seen complete visions all along after all, Li Yang had just heard voices while seeing that one pair of eyes, it was something much easier to push aside. The two had to stop the wagon shortly after Mei Kongxu's Qi started to run rampant, it would be completely destroyed if they stayed in it.
At this point, they were only about three kilometres from the forest so it really wasn't a problem to walk the rest of the way, even with Li Yang's array active and Mei Kongxu's worsening state. The horses were clearly uncomfortable with where they stopped, but they had been trained well enough to not run off despite that, they just stomped their feet lightly while nervously tossing their heads. Mei Kongxu and Li Yang got out of the carriage, but Mei Kongxu immediately made sure to move away from Li Yang.
"Stay away from me, the further the better."
Mei Kongxu wore a cold facade most of the time, but that didn't mean that she actually hated Li Yang. She wasn't currently able to control her Qi, it was to the point that the grass around her withered while the earth dried and started to twist unnaturally, any living being that got close to her would obviously also be subject to the effect of her two laws. But faced with this rare moment of concern, Li Yang simply smirked.
"Heh, pretty big words for someone who had their ass spanked by me. There's no way I'd let someone who I've already defeated hurt me, especially now that I feel like I'm walking on clouds."
As if he was trying to prove his point, Li Yang walked closer to her. Each step was measured and slow, and he didn't stop until he was right in front of her, his eyes peering down since he was almost half a head taller than her. Her Qi was still unleashed uncontrollably, but it was all blocked by Li Yang's own Qi, even the twisting earth forced back down thanks to his law of gravity.
"And there you have it. Let's go."
He practically exuded arrogance as he stood there, the corners of his lips fully curved up. But for once, Mei Kongxu felt that his display of arrogance looked at least a little bit grand and a tiny bit touching. But her cold facade showed not a single sign of any such thoughts as she moved her feet and started to head for the forest, gritting her teeth all the way in a futile attempt to control her Qi.
The roles of the two actually reversed as they walked, Mei Kongxu ended up slowing down so much that it fell on Li Yang to slow down and match her pace. She forced every step, her Qi turning more and more violent with each inch she moved forward. Her reaction was clearly far more violent than Li Yang's, and it made it clear that the unknown ties their visions might have with these ruins were ingrained far deeper into Mei Kongxu than in Li Yang.
The power behind her law of decay also got denser and denser, to the point that it became visible as a slight fluctuation in the surrounding air. Mei Kongxu was clearly struggling, her face devoid of any colour while sweat ran down her face to such a degree that it looked like she was walking through rain. But she refused to halt her steps, refused to stay behind, refused to cease moving forward.
But in the end, all living beings will reach that ceiling, that limit that they can't surpass, at least not in their current state. And Mei Kongxu reached it when they were just half a kilometre away from the forest, her feet giving out beneath her as she dropped to a kneeling position. The moment her knees hit the earth, the fluctuation spreading throughout the surrounding air changed slightly.
A black aura seeped out from her body, only extending one or two centimetres out from her body. But the earth and grass that were touched by this black aura didn't just wither or twist, they fell apart and disintegrated. It looked somewhere between rotting to dust or being twisted into nothingness, it was a rather mystifying sight that neither of them had seen before.
But Mei Kongxu wasn't in a state where she could observe this strange effect she had on her surroundings, even the black aura barely registered in her mind, she looked as if she was about to fall apart where she knelt. And no matter how little she wanted to admit it, no matter how much she wanted to keep moving forward, she knew that it was impossible, and she knew the only thing that could be done.
"You...go ahead..."
She forced the words out from between her teeth, which were grit so hard that blood seeped out from her gums. Her unwillingness to utter them was apparent on her face, but she had seen her own limit and was forced to come to terms with the truth. Li Yang stood half a step away from her and looked down at her, the eyes of the two locking for a second.
And as Mei Kongxu looked into his eyes, what she saw wasn't acceptance or pity, it wasn't even worry or curiosity. No, the only thing she saw was a playful arrogance that knew no bounds, an ocean of arrogance that hid an un-rockable floor of determination and confidence. And both of those things were perfectly represented in the upwards curve that his lips took.
"No."
A simple word, or perhaps it was a simple command. She couldn't quite put her finger on why, but she was reminded of what he had said a few times already. I don't abandon what's mine. And as if to prove those words, he moved right up to Mei Kongxu, crouched down, and then stretched out his arms. His fingers touched the black aura, the Qi protecting them vanishing without resistance, not even able to block it for a single second.
But he still kept on reaching out with his arms, one towards her shoulder while the other went towards her legs. And just as the black aura reached his hands, his hands reached her body. And it was at that moment that a strange scene took place, and it wasn't the scene of Li Yang's hands reaching the same fate as the earth and grass that touched the black aura.
No, a soft white aura seeped out from his hands and pushed back the opposing black aura. But the white aura didn't just protect his hands as he flipped Mei Kongxu over and picked her up into a princess carry, it also pushed the black aura back so much that it was forced to recede into Mei Kongxo's body. The rampaging Qi failed to leave her body, allowing the surrounding grass to sigh in relief that it wouldn't wither like the other grass she had walked past.
Mei Kongxu had no idea what the black aura she had released was, nor did she know what this white aura was. And Li Yang was in much the same state, he certainly hadn't expected his body to suddenly unleash a white aura like this. But looking at where they were and the difference in how they reacted, it was easy for both of them to guess that the two differing auras were probably related to the source of the visions they saw. Once they learned the truth about the visions, they would probably also learn the truth about the auras. But for now, Li Yang kept that thought in the back of his mind and showed Mei Kongxu his oh so characteristic cocky smirk.
"See? The defeated should just accept the orders of the victor, you can complain when you're strong enough to return those spanks I gave you."
Having said that, Li Yang started to walk forward without putting Mei Kongxu down, his hands thoroughly enjoying the soft sensation that her body provided. And whether or not it was due to shock or the fact that she was still weak despite the black aura being pushed back into her body, for once Mei Kongxu was obedient, the two slowly entering the ruins swallowed by nature.
