"Why, Class Monitor? Even though Aunt Himeko usually gets drunk and sleeps in other people's beds, and is an old woman no one wants, you can't just beat her to death like that."
"No, Kiana. Major Himeko isn't dead; she's just fainted. Also… what you just said was incredibly rude."
Aside from being unconscious, Himeko didn't have any severe injuries, and the Honkai Energy in her body hadn't reached dangerous levels; the situation was still under control.
Leaving Kiana to look after Himeko, Fu Hua approached the xuanyuan sword, picking up the xuanyuan sword that had fallen to the ground and examining it carefully.
"If the records on the tree are correct, Ji Xuanyuan sealed Chiyou during their battle, and if the weapon that sealed Chiyou is this divine key… then… our current location, could it be…"
Fu Hua couldn't help but look at the ground she was standing on. Although it looked like an underwater cave, with the xuanyuan sword present, even an underwater cave wouldn't be so simple.
Most importantly, upon picking up the xuanyuan sword, a flood of memory fragments suddenly appeared in Fu Hua's mind. These strange yet familiar fragments seemed to be related to the xuanyuan sword.
'What… exactly is going on? Is there something about the xuanyuan sword in my forgotten memories?'
Fu Hua couldn't recall; it seemed that memory was simply too ancient, almost completely forgotten.
Just as Fu Hua was rubbing her head, aching, the ground they stood on suddenly shook violently, and numerous cracks began to appear.
The constantly appearing cracks in the ground caused Fu Hua, Kiana, and the unconscious Himeko to fall, and even Inaba Tsukiyo plunged into the sudden rift.
As they descended, Inaba Tsukiyo observed her surroundings, discovering that below the cave, numerous small islands floated, with large quantities of purple crystals emitting a dim light from within them.
At the same time, the air here exuded a very high concentration of Honkai Energy, and between the islands, there were black fissures, which seemed to lead to other islands.
Inaba Tsukiyo landed steadily on an island, and along with her, the xuanyuan sword that Himeko had been holding also fell.
Hesitating for a moment, Inaba Tsukiyo picked up the xuanyuan sword.
She wasn't controlled like Himeko had been; it was just like an ordinary weapon, though the constantly flashing patterns on the xuanyuan sword hinted at its extraordinary nature.
"The xuanyuan sword has been pulled out. If I'm not mistaken, the xuanyuan sword should be the divine key Ji Xuanyuan used to seal Chiyou. Now that the divine key has been pulled out, does that mean Chiyou has been unsealed?"
No wonder, no wonder she felt Honkai Energy faintly emanating from inside the cave when she entered; it turned out they had been moving inside Chiyou's body all along.
However… what Inaba Tsukiyo was more concerned about was where exactly the cave they entered was. Was it Chiyou's mouth, or… never mind, never mind, now wasn't the time to think about such things.
Although the xuanyuan sword was different from the weapon she used, it was such an important divine key that it was better to keep it on her, as this was also one of the objectives of this mission.
Having retrieved the divine key, the next thing to consider was finding the scattered Kiana and the others… There was a great distance between the islands. Unless she used Magic Power Release to enhance her physique, Inaba Tsukiyo really couldn't jump across.
With no other option, Inaba Tsukiyo could only pass through the fissure. The other side of the fissure was an island no different from the previous one, and on this island, there were two more fissures like the previous ones, which should lead to other places.
Not knowing the way, Inaba Tsukiyo could only shuttle constantly through the paths. When she arrived at a new island, she found a stele in the middle of it with a black handprint.
"This is… could this be left by Ji Xuanyuan, who sealed Chiyou back then?"
There were some other questions in front of this handprint, but due to the passage of time, the text on it was mostly illegible.
The only thing that could be clearly seen was this black handprint on the stele, but… why was the handprint black?
According to the history textbooks' records of Ji Xuanyuan, Ji Xuanyuan was a very cute Little Loli, but this handprint was clearly dark.
"What is the meaning of this handprint? Could it be… that something is contained here?"
Unable to find other clues, Inaba Tsukiyo decided to take a gamble, reaching out and placing her hand on the handprint on the stele.
The moment she placed her hand on it, her eyes went blank, and her consciousness suddenly entered an unfamiliar space.
In this unfamiliar space, only Ji Xuanyuan was present. This space contained nothing, not even light.
Inaba Tsukiyo watched Ji Xuanyuan standing in this space from the side. This feeling was as if she, unable to see anything, was like light in a small dark room.
Without a concept of time, in Ji Xuanyuan's eyes, there was only darkness and loneliness. A tremendous solitude constantly surged towards her, devouring her.
However, Ji Xuanyuan did not give up. Although she couldn't feel anything, Ji Xuanyuan still didn't give up. She chose to persevere, she chose to wait.
She still remembered what Jiang Zhu had told her when she first set out to conquer Chiyou. He must be looking for her. To see the person she loved again, she would keep waiting like this, she would keep waiting… "Ji Xuanyuan…"
Snapping out of Ji Xuanyuan's memories, Inaba Tsukiyo wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. The records on it were left by Ji Xuanyuan about four hundred days after sealing Chiyou.
However… merely four hundred-odd days of that maddening loneliness was already enough to devour a person's sanity.
But this was definitely not the only information Ji Xuanyuan left behind. One must know that Chiyou had been sealed for an unknown number of years, and Ji Xuanyuan was just like Chiyou.
In just a few hundred days, Ji Xuanyuan's consciousness was already gradually on the verge of collapse. To understand more about Ji Xuanyuan, what she needed to do was to look for new steles.
Next was the process of continuously searching for steles. From initial perseverance to later despair, Ji Xuanyuan constantly endured loneliness that ordinary people could not bear.
While watching Ji Xuanyuan's memories, Inaba Tsukiyo somehow began to sober up. She was merely immortal, but unlike Ji Xuanyuan, she wasn't trapped in this dark world for thousands of years.
From initial hope to later wishing for death but unable to find it, no one knew what Ji Xuanyuan had endured during these thousand years.
'I am willing to give everything I have!'
Once the daughter of the Xuanyuan clan leader, Ji Xuanyuan had a naive and innocent personality.
But the monsters of the Nine Netherworld destroyed everything she once had.
To fight against Honkai, she sealed her power, letting the world know of her attacks, but no one knew the suffering she endured.
No, perhaps the Boy named Jiang Zhu understood Ji Xuanyuan's pain; only this Boy was different from others, he was the Boy who truly grew close to Ji Xuanyuan and opened her heart.
But this savior of Shenzhou did not find a good end, only suffering endlessly in this dark world.
Then, everything changed after Inaba Tsukiyo found the last stone tablet.
Due to the long period of sealing, Ji Xuanyuan had forgotten who she was, forgotten why she appeared in this space.
The prolonged sense of loneliness completely consumed Ji Xuanyuan; her consciousness had fallen into a state of madness, to the point where she had forgotten even Jiang Zhu, whom she once deeply loved.
It's just... even if Ji Xuanyuan forgot her former name, she still remembered Jiang Zhu's name; even if she had forgotten her feelings for Jiang Zhu, she still remembered his name.
Perhaps, this is the power of love, or perhaps it is the last straw that allowed her to persevere until now.
After seeing these memories, there were no more stone tablets, or perhaps no more were needed; she already knew what Ji Xuanyuan would experience.
Inaba Tsukiyo, constantly traversing through the rifts, arrived at a special island. This island was different from the previous ones; it had only one rift, and this rift emitted a strong Honkai Energy from within.
"Could it be... this is where Ji Xuanyuan has been staying all this time?"
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't know, but she understood that if she wanted to leave this place, she needed to defeat Ji Xuanyuan.
Without hesitation, Inaba Tsukiyo stepped into the rift.
As soon as she entered the rift, Inaba Tsukiyo felt the Honkai Energy, more concentrated and already liquefied than outside, flowing on the ground.
At the same time, a Little Girl lay on the ground not far away. This Little Girl was different from what she had seen on the stone tablets, but Inaba Tsukiyo knew clearly that she was Ji Xuanyuan.
It's just that Ji Xuanyuan's original symbol had lost its original luster during years of loneliness, and with its owner's degradation, it had taken on an ominous color.
The dragon slayer eventually became a dragon; such was Ji Xuanyuan's situation.
Ji Xuanyuan was sleeping, just like a doll. If it weren't for her gently rising and falling chest, Inaba Tsukiyo might have thought she was dead.
Slowly approaching Ji Xuanyuan, as the distance closed, the surrounding liquid Honkai Energy grew increasingly intense, but this Honkai Energy had no effect on Inaba Tsukiyo.
Even Seele, under the shroud of this immense Honkai Energy, could only hide within Inaba Tsukiyo, watching Inaba Tsukiyo gradually approach Ji Xuanyuan.
After arriving in front of Ji Xuanyuan, Ji Xuanyuan still showed no reaction, just like a corpse.
Even if Inaba Tsukiyo killed her, she probably wouldn't react at all.
It's just... did she really have to act? Did she really have to kill Ji Xuanyuan? Kill this hero of Shenzhou?
Stripped of her hero status, Ji Xuanyuan was just an ordinary Little Girl. Was there no way to make her return to her original self?
Ji Xuanyuan had gone mad due to prolonged loneliness. If... if she could do something, perhaps she could restore Ji Xuanyuan to her former self.
It's just... how exactly should she do it? She was a swordsman, not a Magician. What was the best way?
"Wait a minute... Magician? Magician..."
She remembered the power she had gained last time; besides the God Slaying eyes, there seemed to be another power.
This power, it seemed, could help.
Although she didn't know the full extent of its possibility, it was better than having no other option.
Before Ji Xuanyuan woke up, she should try it quickly.
Thinking this, mikazuki munechika at Inaba Tsukiyo's waist began to glow. Inaba Tsukiyo picked up the scabbard, and the weapon transformed in the light, becoming a magic staff, while her clothes also turned into a light robe.
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