Atkin

Chapter 561: The human heart is the most terrifying illusion in this world

The night sky seems like an endless spiritual sky, deep and silent, with flickering spiritual light, as if silently telling the past of the elves.

Among the mountains and forests, the breeze blows quietly, carrying the unique fragrance of spiritual plants.

Gu Lanqing was wearing a light pink Xiu Yanxu costume. The soft material fit her body shape well. The spiritual patterns embroidered on it were outlined by Xiu Yanxu’s ancestors using spiritual power. Each pattern carried the heavy responsibility of protection and inheritance.

The wind blew, her clothes fluttered, and the spiritual patterns flickered, which set off her graceful figure, making her look like a fairy walking out of a spiritual realm.

Gu Lanqing suddenly felt a chill on his neck and subconsciously shrank his shoulders. An itchy feeling suddenly rushed to his throat.

She quickly turned sideways, raised her white hand to cover her lips, and coughed twice, "cough, cough", which was particularly abrupt in this tense atmosphere.

Qin Xiaochuan was concentrating on watching Elder Pu and Ling Ye confront each other. When he heard the cough, he turned around abruptly, his eyes full of concern. He took a few steps to Gu Lanqing, leaned over slightly, and asked anxiously: "Lanqing, what's wrong with you?"

Qin Xiaochuan has a straightforward personality and speaks in a simple and down-to-earth manner. He usually takes good care of Gu Lanqing.

Gu Lanqing shook her head gently, put down her hand, and raised a faint smile at the corner of her mouth. Her voice was soft but steady: "Xiaochuan, it's okay, I was choked by the wind." As she spoke, she raised her hand to tidy up her hair that was messed up by the wind, and her fingers touched the jade hairpin on her bun.

This hairpin was given to her by her mother when she left the family. It is said that it protected the ancestors of the family from the crisis of spiritual power exhaustion and carries the family's concern and expectations.

At the same time, Yan Zhaoheng, who was not far away, was secretly observing the situation.

The spirit crystal he was playing with was a rare item found at the bottom of the Spirit Abyss, the holy land of the spirit race. It could keenly sense the subtle fluctuations of spiritual power within a radius of 100 miles.

Hearing the cough, Yan Zhaoheng's fingers suddenly paused, and his eyes instantly passed through the crowd and fell on Gu Lanqing.

His eyes were deep and unfathomable, hiding unknown emotions.

Yan Zhaoheng, as a leader in spiritual arts among the spirit race, had been silently paying attention to Gu Lanqing. However, in front of everyone, he quickly restrained his emotions, looked away as if nothing had happened, and continued to rotate the spirit crystal. His expression was calm on the surface, but ripples were forming in his heart.

At this moment, Elder Pu's spiritual power surged, and he shouted suddenly: "Ling Ye, today is the end of you!" As he roared, the surrounding Xiu Yanxu disciples mobilized their spiritual power. The originally calm atmosphere instantly became tense to the extreme, and a big battle seemed to be about to break out.

Gu Lanqing's heart tightened. She knew very well that although Ling Ye had the blood of the Lan clan, he had always lived in peace with everyone else. If they rashly started a war, the consequences would be disastrous.

She subconsciously took a step forward and wanted to speak out to dissuade them, but when she saw how excited everyone was, she swallowed the words back.

The spiritual wind was whistling, and Gu Lanqing's hair was disheveled.

She slowly lowered her head, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, like a butterfly shivering in the wind, casting a hazy shadow under her eyelids, hiding a struggle that was difficult for others to understand.

Her lower lip had been bitten so hard that it had lost its color and was almost transparent. Fine beads of sweat rolled down her smooth forehead and dripped onto her light pink dress embroidered with spiritual patterns, leaving dark marks.

The spiritual energy around Gu Lanqing surged like a turbulent undercurrent, wantonly pulling at the corners of her clothes. Her sharp eyes penetrated the bustling crowd and locked onto Ling Ye and Liu Miao.

Ling Ye's posture was straight and upright, like a proud pine tree. Facing the scrutiny of everyone, his expression was stern, his jaw was slightly retracted, and his muscles were tense, revealing his inner vigilance.

Liu Miao stood aside, her eyes clear but full of confusion, her hands unconsciously tugging at the hem of her clothes, revealing her inner panic.

Just one glance and Gu Lanqing's heart was filled with turmoil.

These two people are completely different from the image of traitors described by Elder Pu Chuang who colluded with the Lan Clan and attempted to overthrow Xiuyanxu.

The pure aura they exude is free of any greed or evil.

Gu Lanqing subconsciously raised his hand and rubbed his aching temple. He frowned and thought to himself: I have only practiced for a few years and my experience is still shallow. Could it be that I am confused by appearances? If I make a rash judgment and destroy the peace of Xiuyanxu, I will be blamed for it.

The rules that have been passed down for many years in Xiuyanxu are like a solid barrier in the spiritual world and cannot be easily shaken. Looking at Elder Pu Chuang, he is highly respected and fair in Xiuyanxu, and is deeply respected by everyone.

But at this moment, facing Ling Ye and Liu Miao, his eyes were as cold as ice, and the spiritual power around him dissipated uncontrollably, completely different from his usual calm self.

Gu Lanqing stared at the octagonal Lingxi jade plate in Elder Pu Chuang's hand. It was like a star in the dark night, emitting a cold and mysterious glow.

The spiritual patterns on the plate seemed like living things, flickering mysteriously along with the elder's movements. Each ray of light was like a sharp hook, tightly catching Gu Lanqing's gaze.

"What exactly is he going to do?" Gu Lanqing's Adam's apple rolled with difficulty, and he squeezed out these words in a dry voice.

Her eyes shuttled back and forth between Elder Pu Chuang and Ling Ye, her brows knitted tighter and tighter, as if she wanted to twist the fog in front of her to find the truth. Ling Ye stood not far away, his originally calm face flashed a trace of panic at this moment, his eyes were full of struggle as if being pulled by some force.

Gu Lanqing's gaze seemed to be attracted by a magnet, firmly fixed on the octagonal Lingxi jade plate in Elder Pu Chuang's palm.

All around the jade plate, dark blue spiritual patterns were like nimble snakes, meandering along the strange patterns. Every time they flashed, they shot towards Ling Ye like sharp arrows, as if to forcibly pull out the Greedy bloodline hidden in his body.

"Pu Chuang, what exactly does he want to do?" Gu Lanqing whispered, her voice trembling unconsciously, with a panic that she herself was not aware of.

A crazy idea sprouted in her mind: "Is he crazy? He actually tried to use the Lingxi Jade Plate to awaken Lingye's Lan clan bloodline?" Once this idea took root, it set off a storm in her heart.

The scenes of his past training in Xiuyanxu flashed through his mind like a kaleidoscope. Those once rock-solid beliefs and respected teachers became shaky in an instant.

"Has all my perseverance over the years been nothing but an illusion?" Her heart was beating violently, as if it was going to burst through her chest. The rapid rhythm was like the last drumbeat on the battlefield, shaking her soul.

She subconsciously clenched her fists, and the veins on the back of her hands bulged like angry little snakes. She breathed rapidly, and every breath she took seemed like she was trying to hold on to her sanity that was about to dissipate.

"Is there something wrong with my cognition, or... am I the victim of some weird illusion?" Gu Lanqing couldn't believe what she saw. She raised her hands suddenly and rubbed her eyes vigorously, as if this could dispel the absurdity before her eyes.

Then, she circulated the spiritual power in her body and carefully examined her body, not missing any tiny details.

However, apart from a panicked heart, he did not notice anything unusual.

"The human heart is the most terrifying illusion in this world." Gu Lanqing felt a bone-chilling sadness in his heart, and the chill spread from his heart to his entire body.

She could never have imagined that the Elder Pu Chuang, whom she had always followed, would do such a crazy thing.

"I was born in the Gu family of The Hague, and I should have a bright and open path in cultivation. Why was I confused by the false reputation of Xiu Yanxu?" At this moment, she felt that her three views were hit by a heavy hammer and collapsed. Her former beliefs and persistence vanished in an instant.

At this moment, Lingye suddenly let out a painful groan, held his head tightly with both hands, and his body shook violently uncontrollably.

His face was filled with pain and struggle, and his originally clear eyes were now filled with confusion as if they were torn apart by a powerful force.

When Gu Lanqing saw this, his heart suddenly tightened and he rushed towards Ling Ye without thinking.

"Lingye!" she shouted, her voice full of anxiety and concern.

However, before she took a few steps, she was stopped sternly by Elder Pu Chuang.

"Gu Lanqing, stop! Don't let things get out of hand!" Elder Pu Chuang's voice was like a thunderclap, exploding in the air with unquestionable majesty.

Gu Lanqing stopped in his tracks abruptly, but the resentment in his heart burned like a raging fire.

She slowly turned her head and looked at Elder Pu Chuang, her eyes as firm as iron: "Elder, there must be something hidden in this matter. I can't just watch Ling Ye suffer."

At this moment, the two people's eyes collided fiercely in the air, sparks seemed to fly, and a fierce conflict was about to break out.

Suddenly, the jade plate shone brightly, and an invisible force spread outward with the jade plate as the center.

Gu Lanqing was pushed back a few steps by the force, but he still gritted his teeth and stood firm.

Ling Ye roared in pain under the cover of this power, and a black mist faintly appeared around his body, which was a sign of the awakening of the Greedy Clan's bloodline.

Upon seeing this, Elder Pu Chuang showed a complicated look on his face, showing both the joy of success and a hint of imperceptible worry.

Gu Lanqing watched all this, and the doubts in his heart grew stronger.

She knew very well that if she didn't stop it quickly, not only would the Ye Society be doomed, but Xiuyanxu and even the entire Linghuan Continent would face a huge crisis.

She took a deep breath, suppressed her inner panic, and secretly thought of a solution.

At this moment, she suddenly remembered a mysterious power recorded in the ancient books of the spirit race, which might be able to counterbalance the power of the Lingxi Jade Plate, but this power was extremely rare and difficult to obtain.

"No matter how difficult it is, I will give it a try." Gu Lanqing made up her mind secretly. She looked at Ling Ye again, her eyes full of determination and resoluteness.