Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 782 Heart and Soul (Part 2)

"How... do you want to bring it under control?" Pei Ye asked, bewildered.

Pei Ye quickly recalled everything that had happened back then.

An irreconcilable conflict arose between the enlightened mind and the heavenly mind, because the Gushe Heavenly Mind is neither attached nor loving, and is without desire or emotion, while the bright mirror and the ice mirror, though clear and transparent, have their own things to do. Therefore, the Gushe Heavenly Mind cannot coexist with this "different nature".

At that time, Gu She Tianxin was determined to kill the girl in front of her. The two were evenly matched, but the ice and snow outside was about to collapse.

Mingyun was the one who gave in, because the boy's life was still beside her, and Sima Heyi Duanzhi would arrive in an instant. So she let the boy kill her in exchange for Gushe Tianxin taking control of this body.

From the moment the world was invincible.

But Pei Ye made another choice. He accepted the sword strike from Gu She Tian Xin and, together with Ming Yun, pinned it to the cliff face.

From then on, Gushe Tianxin was under control, and the [Ice and Snow Body] became the power under Mingxin's dominance.

However, the unresolved issues remain issues. The woman will not remain in the first level of "Ice and Snow" forever. When she enters the second level of "Gushe", her relationship with Gushe Tianxin will be a problem that must be addressed.

“Don’t worry, it’s not as dangerous as last time,” said the girl walking ahead. “She’s very quiet now.”

"……Oh."

Pei Ye realized at this moment that he still felt the shock from the last time he saw this scene, as if the woman was still on the verge of death and would turn into a cold corpse at any moment.

Of course we should trust Miss Ming. No one can control their mind better than her. Even back then, I only helped her take a sword, and she pinned Tianxin down.

Moreover, without the poison of Huansilou, the conflict between Tianxin and Mingxin was not so critical.

“Hmm.” Mingyun continued ascending. “I was ready to step into the realm of nothingness, which is why I asked you to come. But I need your help once again.”

"What are we going to do?"

As Pei Ye finished speaking, he stopped walking. They had already climbed back up to the sword platform above the sea of ​​clouds.

A tall, round wall stood beneath it, and a divine being was nailed to the wall by a transparent nail, his feet a foot off the ground, his whole body dangling.

Sensing the two approaching, she raised her head. Her hair was like clouds, her eyes like jade, and her face was indifferent. Even in defeat and imprisonment, her charm remained undiminished.

It was as if the sword was just a fragile kite string, and she was about to break free at any moment.

“Better than her.” Mingyun turned to look at the boy. “Like last time.”

"..."

“If we are to step into the realm of ‘nothingness,’ the two of us can no longer maintain this state,” Mingyun said. “We must find a leader.”

"Didn't we already defeat her before?"

“You’ve become much more capable than you were back then, and she’s certainly changed too.” Mingyun looked at the figure. “She’ll soon be able to pull out the glass herself.”

"Just one more win against her, is that enough?"

"Just one more win against her will be enough." Mingyun lowered her eyes. "After the World Sword Tournament, we won't be evenly matched like last time. We're both waiting for this final showdown, and there will definitely be a winner."

"Should I take her sword again this time?" Pei Ye pressed down on the jade tiger at his waist.

"Yes, but she has already seen your Heart Sword technique once."

Pei Ye was taken aback.

Mingyun looked at him seriously: "And this time, the Heart-Slaying Glaze is in her hands. Do you have any new methods to deal with her sword?"

Pei Ye was instantly freed from his current surroundings. He realized the woman's intention, and all the words he had just heard on Zhongnan Mountain flooded into his mind.

"Is that so? Then what should I do..."

"Would you like to visit Shenren Peak again?"

“I… Miss Ming, I haven’t obtained the second Mindset yet.” He blurted out, “You only have one chance, how can you let me waste it.”

Mingyun tilted her head, as if she didn't understand what he was saying, and said earnestly, "How could it be a waste? I trust you."

She lowered her head, and an ordinary sword flew into her hand: "Please take her sword for me, thank you."

She walked onto the sword arena, stood still, and the clouds and seas of the sky began to surge in all directions.

Then she became quieter and quieter, and at the same time, Gu She Tian Xin seemed to come alive, her cloud-like hair and sleeves fluttering slightly, like a slowly burning fire.

The glass floated gently from her body and was grasped in her hand.

As the price for sealing the god for several months, this famous sword has also been assimilated by the Heavenly Heart.

Gu She drifted into the arena, and when Liu Li became one with her, her ethereal beauty was even more breathtaking. Pei Ye always had the illusion that she was the true master of this place, because Yun Tiandu seemed to breathe the same air as her.

He lowered his head, pursed his lips, and with a clang, drew the jade tiger from his waist.

He walked up to Mingyun and offered a sword salute to Gushe Tianxin.

Mingyun asked from behind, "Are you going to take her first sword strike?"

“Yes. That way, at least I can’t catch it, and Miss Ming, you can see her move first,” Pei Ye said earnestly.

“I think you’ve grown up a lot since the last time we met.”

"Hmm?" Pei Ye couldn't help but turn around.

The girl smiled and said, "If you can face your possible failures with such composure, then you will definitely not fail."

Pei Ye was slightly taken aback. The next moment, a clear world enveloped the entire sword platform in front of him, instantly enveloping Pei Ye.

Pei Ye turned around and met Gu She's extremely beautiful and indifferent eyes.

Mingyun is right.

She had indeed seen [Mingjian Bingtian Yingwo] once, and he would never have the chance to catch her with that sword again.

Because what's coming towards him now is precisely this Heart Sword technique!
He had once been fortunate enough to reach the pinnacle of his mental state, and in a fleeting moment, he was able to confront this celestial being from Mount Guye.

Now, half a year later, Pei Ye saw this sword coming towards him for the first time.

This was certainly not revenge. Gu She had no such desire for gain or loss. There was only one reason why she chose this sword: the boy was absolutely unable to withstand it.

Because this is his strongest sword strike, he has no way to deal with it, especially when the swordsman is Gu She Tian Xin.

How do you start a battle of wits with her?

Wouldn't they die without a burial place?

But Pei Ye had no choice, nor was it his choice; he was already enveloped in this clear, crystal-like world.

He was extremely familiar with this place, but in the past, he had always been the one judging others in this world. This was the first time he was being judged.

The power of swordsmanship is not constant, and neither is the power of the Heart Sword.

Pei Ye saw his clear self reflected in his desperate situation, and thus he mastered this sword technique, using it to judge Qu Zhu, whose mind was clouded. Now that Gu She has mastered this sword technique, before Gu She's Heavenly Heart, Pei Ye has naturally become the one with a clouded mind as well.

Originally, apart from the clear mirror and the ice mirror, no mortal heart could possibly contend with Gu She.

Now, the sword has pierced through Pei Ye's body. Pei Ye is silent and frozen. He never thought that his heart had so much gloom and emptiness, like rotten wood that has been eaten away for many years.

Large patches of darkness covered the body, like scars and birthmarks, some flowing, some alternating between light and dark, and in many more places, tiny, densely packed, wriggling shadows, like swarms of maggots.

Almost eighteen years into his life, all the dark emotions and thoughts awakened at the same time, and a thick tide overwhelmed the boy.

Compared to Gu She, strength turned into weakness, decisiveness into indecisiveness, not to mention those inherently dark things: greed, escapism, recklessness, hypocrisy, fear... and the heavy and enormous underlying color in the youth, which sinks to the bottom and spreads the widest, often making him feel that it is a part of his birth.

It was only then that I realized what a huge shadow it was.

Sadness, hatred, loneliness, confusion.

Pei Ye didn't know what Qu Zhu felt when his heart was severed by this sword. At this moment, he was almost suffocating, and his five senses were filled with a thick and surging black tide.

Those old memories surfaced one by one in his mind: playmates, relatives, elders, teachers and friends, lovers... Every emotion he thought was over erupted again in his heart, his whole heart melted from solid to boiling water, and then churned violently, on the verge of collapse.

He never expected that the sword strike would be so powerful.

Gu She came with a sword.

Pei Ye was unable to move a muscle. On the ice, his body was mangled, the clear parts shattered, the dark parts corroded and peeled away, standing like rotten wood. At this moment, he felt that he was already dead. There should have been no shadow in the realm of clarity, and that sword had pierced right through him.

But he wondered, 'Did Miss Ming see this sword strike clearly?'

'If she didn't see clearly, I'd better try to land a fatal blow before I die.'

He suddenly realized that he actually remembered what he was doing.

—Standing atop the Cloud Sea Sword Platform, he receives a sword strike from Gu She for the girl behind him.

You haven't even caught that sword yet.

Pei Ye was suddenly horrified. He raised his mutilated and ugly head, and his two fiery eyes stared straight at the celestial being descending from the sky.

In an instant, he understood why the woman had invited him here.

Of course, only when facing the Gushe Heart-Slaying Sword can you see clearly where the rotten parts of your heart are, where the worms are, and where the steel is.

Only then can I rediscover that state of mind.

What right do you have to judge me?
I knew all along that I was lonely, and I knew all along that I was lost.

I knew long ago that I was sensitive and sentimental, easily hurt and wavering, and each failure dealt me ​​a heavy blow.

But I will continue on the path I am meant to take, and even after failure, I still dare to draw my sword.

As long as there is one thing I need to do, I will let this pain ravage my heart, but it cannot hold me back.

Pei Ye seemed to see countless points of light, large and small, in the dark, viscous tide; they were all things he was determined to do.

He was silent for a moment, then reached out his hand to one of the brightest and largest ones.

[Slay the True Dragon Immortal Lord Taiyi]

A brilliant light suddenly burst into flames, engulfing everything and burning away all darkness and decay. Although the boy's body was later broken and mangled, the remaining parts were indeed bright and sharp.

All the tides cannot shake the steel.

In an instant, Gu She's sword swept in, and Pei Ye stepped back and drew his sword horizontally. The young man and the goddess's figures intersected, and with a "clang," he cut off Liu Li's sword strike before his body was completely burned.

……

When Pei Ye woke up, he found himself sitting on a blue stone, hugging his knees. There was no sea of ​​clouds, no Gusha Tianxin, and the woman in white was still sitting in front of him, quietly watching him.

"...I've grasped that mindset, Miss Ming." Pei Ye's throat felt hoarse as she spoke. "Are you alright?"

Ming Qitian simply nodded, looking down at him: "Is it very painful?"

"What..." Pei Ye subconsciously raised his hand, only to find his face covered in tears.

He fell silent for a moment, taking a deep breath as if suffering from the aftereffects of suffocation.

He slowly stretched out his body, feeling the night breeze caress his cheeks and body.

“I think I understand, Miss Ming. No matter how my emotions waver, I will persist in doing what I must do... no matter how painful it may be.” After a long silence, he said, “I believe it can condense into a sword-like form. Binglu seems to be growing towards the heart.”

"Is it very painful?" Ming Qitian asked again.

"Yes, Miss Ming, because it is meant to burn away all your outer emotions, to make you suffer the most, before you can touch the steel that is finally forged. I placed my belief in killing the Taiyi True Dragon Immortal Lord there, and it must be the most solid core in the world."

He spoke, but his face remained silent, as if he had not yet recovered from that state of mind.

“I think one must have ambition to stand firm as a person,” Ming Qitian said, looking at him. “However, my thoughts on this sword form are somewhat different from yours.”

Pei Ye took a deep breath and perked up: "What?"

"I think it shouldn't be something you force yourself to do when you're in pain; rather, it's something you'd be willing to do from the bottom of your heart when you think about it while you're in pain."

"..."

“It shouldn’t leave you crippled by the flames, leaving only a bit of steel. Rather, it’s precisely because of this steel that your heart won’t be truly ravaged by pain,” Ming Qitian said earnestly. “The unease in one’s heart can never be erased. Only by putting on a suit of armor for the heart can it be protected from harm and sway. This is called ‘quiet guarding’.”

"..." Pei Ye remained silent for a long time, "But I can't bring myself to like killing Taiyi True Dragon Immortal Lord, Miss Ming. I just have to do it. Because that is my goal and meaning in life."

“I told you before I went in, Miss Ming,” he said, tilting his head slightly.

Killing the Immortal Lord was a cold objective, and Pei Ye held an equally cold attitude in his heart.

“I heard you,” Ming Qitian said. “You said that if it weren’t for killing Yong Bei and the Immortal Lord, you wouldn’t know where to go. Then, don’t you have anything that has nothing to do with others, just things you want to do? When you’ve truly cleared your hatred, won’t you have anything you look forward to doing?”

Pei Ye remained silent for a long while, then shook his head.

“I can’t believe it, Miss Ming. I have many things I can do, and many things I should do—to uphold justice, to help old friends… but nothing really compels me to do anything as much as hatred. Nothing makes me want to do everything in my power to accomplish it.” He looked up at the night sky and said in a low voice, “If one day I really clear away all hatred, I don’t know what I should do next.”

The night breeze was cool. Since leaving Fenghuai, the young man had indeed been like a rootless duckweed. If these two goals were suddenly removed, he would suddenly lose his direction.

Ming Qitian looked at him quietly for a while, then said, "Coming with me?"

“…Wh, what?”

“We can do it together. Once you’ve killed the Taiyi True Dragon Immortal Lord, we can spend our days together, hiking, fishing, playing cards, playing chess… wouldn’t that be nice?” Ming Qitian said earnestly.

"..."

Pei Ye stared intently at the ethereal woman before him, her eyes clear as water.

The warmth of the aura spread through his heart, making each beat suddenly feel incredibly vibrant. At this moment, Pei Ye truly felt how this solid and warm "heart armor" enveloped all his loneliness and unease.

(End of this chapter)