Chapter 59: Elder Old Eel

"Where is the lake?!"

Upon waking from sleep, his eyes opened not to a majestic sunrise over the plateau, nor to the tranquil surface of a lake, nor to the soaring wings of an eagle, but to a small, earth-colored city perched at the edge of a desert, as if it could be swallowed by swirling sand at any moment.

"That’s the battle flag of Xu Kingdom," said Yin Tianyu, pointing to the red and black banner fluttering atop the city wall.

But how had they come here again?

"Dream paper, it really is dream paper," Gu Yi analyzed, his gaze keen. "The first scene I saw upon entering was a dream. I thought the second encounter was real, but now it seems that too was a dream."

Then what they were experiencing now, surely, was also a dream.

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderous noise shattered the peaceful morning. The city gate in the earthen wall swung open, and a cluster of young soldiers charged out.

The Seventh Princess wanted to move, but Gu Yi quickly pulled her down behind a hillside.

To their left, over a hundred people wore the same attire as those encountered yesterday—some riding spirit beasts, some flying on swords, others striding forward—rushing together toward the small city.

Across the vast land, several hundred seemed sparse. Yet their steps betrayed no hesitation.

Boom! Boom!

Outside the city, the troops of Xu Kingdom marched in tight formation, raising clouds of dust.

"They’re attacking the Xu army. What should we do?" The Seventh Princess’s brows knitted with worry.

But Gu Yi had spotted a familiar face.

A dark brown face, the signature bare shoulder, strange symbols marked atop her shoulder.

"Isn’t she the woman who injured you yesterday?" Gu Yi pointed to the woman advancing alone with a long spear.

The Seventh Princess stared, surprised.

"Yes, what’s going on? Didn’t you say she doesn’t exist?"

Encountering the same person… If what Xiaoyiyi said was true…

"I remember now. Since she appears repeatedly, the dream paper of the Rainy Night Eight Chronicles must be hers," Gu Yi lay unmoving atop the hill. "So what we’re seeing is this person’s experience."

At this moment, she was still a minor cultivator in the Heart Establishing Realm. Yet Gu Yi believed she had survived the war between Xu Kingdom and the Twin Peaks, and her cultivation must have grown.

Perhaps, after witnessing her life, the truth behind the 'Burning Books and Burying Scholars' would become clear.

The Seventh Princess lay still, not daring to move. "Whether dream or not, my injury yesterday was real. Be careful, don’t get hurt."

Gu Yi chuckled softly at her words.

Suddenly, the sound of knives piercing bone filled the air.

Splatter!

Ah!

Kill!

The Seventh Princess glanced once, her heart tightening; most ordinary Xu soldiers could not withstand these cultivators.

"Kill the Xu men! Avenge the Peak Master!"

"Charge!"

Gu Yi had seen war scenes in this world, so he could bear it.

But the Seventh Princess buried her head, unable to watch her compatriots suffer.

"It’s just a dream, not real," he comforted.

"It’s real! My ancestors of Xu Kingdom were slaughtered just like this!"

She wasn’t wrong.

Gu Yi smacked his lips. "If only Chongchong were here. She’s so adorable, she’d surely find a way to comfort you."

The battle ended in a flash. In that woman’s memory, it must have been a brief episode.

"Genius of Twin Peaks—why are you and your princess lying here?"

A voice sounded behind them.

Gu Yi and the Seventh Princess sprang up.

"How did you know we were here?"

"I just did."

This woman!

Now closer, Gu Yi suddenly noticed her spiritual energy had changed... as if she’d broken through again!

"What’s happening?" the Seventh Princess whispered.

What was happening? Time must be ignored; if this was someone else’s memory, then her last guiding them into the mountains and now leading them out to battle could not have been yesterday and today.

Perhaps she’d cultivated in the Plateau Tree Sea for a time and now emerged.

Gu Yi pondered the reason.

Then he thought, if the Seventh Princess’s injury was real, and this woman had grown stronger...

"Senior of Twin Peaks," Gu Yi said, saluting crisply. "May I ask your name?"

"You can call me Old Eel. Genius of Twin Peaks, tell me your name—and why are you here?"

Old Eel, what an odd name.

"I am Gu Yi. I don’t know why I’m here—maybe it’s just chance."

"And this woman? Have you conquered her?"

The Seventh Princess’s brows arched, gaze lowering. Though she said nothing to Gu Yi, she remembered well why this woman had turned from foe to friend yesterday.

Gu Yi nodded. "Yes, Senior Old Eel. She is mine now; I will protect her for life."

The dark-skinned woman smiled sincerely. "Congratulations. Then you may bring her back to the Plateau Tree Sea."

Plateau Tree Sea, said to be nearby, but its exact location was unknown.

As Old Eel’s voice faded, the earth-colored city vanished, and the corpses left by battle disappeared.

Beneath their feet stretched an endless expanse of lake.

Some called it the sea, and rightly so, for there was no shore in sight, no boundary.

"Is this... the Plateau Tree Sea you spoke of?" The Seventh Princess stared in wonder as the scene changed.

The trees were real, growing in the water, roots submerged, branches reaching skyward.

Each branch was thick as a column, supporting wooden houses.

Every branch connected to the central peak, and the branches served as roads, with cultivators walking upon them.

The scale of these trees and the sea was vast, enough to house tens of thousands—how prosperous it must have been.

Yet in the next instant, the leaves turned yellow and the lake grew still.

"Where’s Old Eel?"

Gu Yi suddenly couldn’t find the woman behind him.

"There," the Seventh Princess pointed to a wooden house.

The swaying swing and her shriveled arm painted a desolate scene.

Old Eel had aged greatly, her aura deepened, more mysterious than ever.

"Genius of Twin Peaks, I’ve forgotten—what is your name? Why are you here again?"

"I am Gu Yi, Senior Old Eel."

"Do you still favor the woman from Xu Kingdom behind you, and wish to protect her?"

"Yes, I will uphold my promise for life."

The dark-skinned elder rose with her cane, fixing her eyes on Gu Yi. "You wish to know why the world became what it is?"

Gu Yi understood. "You saw what happened after the war, didn’t you?"

"Yes, I experienced everything, waiting for someone from Twin Peaks to come." Old Eel’s face was gentle. "After so many years, the spiritual energy here must be scarce. You must leave quickly, find the true Plateau Tree Sea. I am there, and what I wish to give you is there as well."

"What will you give me?" Gu Yi asked.

"You’ll know when you arrive."

Her figure began to blur once more, then vanished.

Only a voice echoed from the sky.

"Remember—if I have turned to bones, tear away the ninth page of the book in my hand."

Suddenly!

The branches beneath their feet disappeared, and he and the Seventh Princess found themselves suspended in the sky.

"Ah!"

Free fall began. Gu Yi wanted to curse: Why is it always me falling from the sky?

"Don’t be afraid, Gu Yi!"

Above him, the Seventh Princess had grown a pair of purple, spiritual wings, thin and transparent as cicada wings, stirring the air with powerful gusts. In a flash, she caught Gu Yi.

She held him in a princess carry.

"So high," Gu Yi exclaimed, startled. "What’s with that elder, sending me to such a place?"

The Seventh Princess blurted out, "Don’t blame Senior Old Eel. Perhaps she didn’t realize the person she’s waiting for can’t fly."

Gu Yi: ???

Is this meant to provoke me?

"I really can’t fly, so I’m terrified," he said, wrapping his arms around the Seventh Princess’s neck.

"Bold! Let go at once! If you don’t, I’ll throw you down!"

"If you throw me, you’ll kill me—I won’t survive outside anyway. Go ahead, kill me."

The princess, flustered and embarrassed, considered his embrace a grave offense. She demanded he release her, but he refused, so she gathered spiritual energy and jabbed him in the ribs!

"Ah!"

Gu Yi yelped in pain, sent flying.

"Next time, see if you dare behave so shamelessly!"

Gu Yi: "I really can’t fly!"

Whoosh!

The woman’s cicada wings swept strongly, darting forward. At the last moment, she caught Gu Yi with spiritual energy.

She would never let him fall from such a height.

But she was a princess, after all.

Upon landing, she drew her sword. "You’re nothing but a lecher! I meant to save you, yet you insult my purity! I am a princess, and you dare treat me so—surely you bully other girls even worse!"

Gu Yi hadn’t expected her temper to be so fiery.

Meanwhile, the surrounding mountains shifted again. A faint fragrance, like that of a maiden’s chamber, drifted in. Green silk trailed like the hem of someone’s gown.

Her legs were so long.

"Seventh Sister, did you say he insulted your purity?"