Chapter 369: The Trial

Chapter 369: Chapter 369: The Trial

Inside the Holy Pill Hall, a guard led Yi Xiaoyao and his companion to a door crafted from Crimson Jade, then withdrew.

The jade door slowly rose. The two exchanged a glance and entered side by side.

In the next moment, Yi Xiaoyao and Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance were stunned by the sight within. Before them lay a world that was nothing short of a paradise.

Yi Xiaoyao was inwardly astonished. ’No matter how large the Holy Pill Hall is, it could never contain a world like this.’

"This must be the Red Butterfly Saint Witch’s Domain Space," Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance said in awe. "Everything here is an illusion, yet it’s all completely real."

"Domain Space?"

Yi Xiaoyao was shaken. His impression of the Red Butterfly Saint Witch grew even more profound and inscrutable.

But on second thought, it made sense. The Red Butterfly Saint Witch had lived for over five hundred years, so she was naturally powerful. Otherwise, she couldn’t have so easily lent them the power to defeat the white-robed young man and the old woman.

Just then, they saw a woman in front of a small cottage ahead. She was dressed in red, butterfly-themed clothes and was watering the flowers.

The woman appeared to be in her twenties. Her side profile alone revealed her stunning beauty. Perhaps because they were both women from the Red Wilderness, Yi Xiaoyao thought she bore a slight resemblance to Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance.

"Sister, the Red Butterfly Saint Witch asked us to come here. Do you know where we can find her?"

Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance, feeling an inexplicable sense of kinship, stepped forward and asked the woman in the butterfly dress.

The woman in the butterfly dress turned around, revealing a truly peerless beauty. She let out a soft laugh. "Sister?"

Her smile made her even more beautiful, and her voice was enchanting. But when Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance and Yi Xiaoyao heard it, their expressions changed drastically.

The voice was identical to that of the Red Butterfly Saint Witch, which had just echoed in their minds.

"The Red Butterfly Saint Witch!"

They both reacted at once. After a cry of surprise, they immediately bowed.

Yi Xiaoyao could never have imagined that the Red Butterfly Saint Witch, who had lived for over five hundred years, would be so young and beautiful. It was as if the passage of time had left no mark on her at all.

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch seemed pleased by Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance’s address of "Sister." Taking a liking to her, she smiled and said directly, "From now on, you are my disciple."

"Huh?" Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance’s mouth fell open, her beautiful eyes widening as she stared at the Red Butterfly Saint Witch in disbelief.

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch had never taken a disciple before. Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance had only exchanged a single sentence with the Saint Witch, who hadn’t even asked for her name, and was now being accepted as her student. Anyone would find this unbelievable.

Moreover, becoming the Saint Witch’s disciple meant her status would be elevated beyond compare.

"You may leave. I have some questions for this boy."

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch didn’t even ask if Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance was willing, having already settled the matter.

Seemingly overwhelmed with excitement, Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance gave a dazed nod, quickly bowed, and withdrew.

Yi Xiaoyao watched Flame Sacrifice Fire Dance’s retreating figure, a faint smile gracing his lips.

’He guessed that the Red Butterfly Saint Witch had only taken her as a disciple because she had performed the Cyan Wood Butterfly Dance with him earlier. It must have reminded the Saint Witch of her younger self.’

’This Saint Witch certainly has a peculiar temperament.’

"Speak. Who sent you to find me, and who taught you this Swordsmanship?"

A bone-chilling voice suddenly snapped Yi Xiaoyao back to his senses.

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch was like a completely different person now. Her gaze, fixed on Yi Xiaoyao, was filled with what seemed to be boundless resentment, sending an involuntary shudder through his heart.

Yi Xiaoyao forced himself to remain calm. "It was the very person you are thinking of right now, Saint Witch."

"It really was him?"

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch’s beautiful face changed in an instant. The resentment in her eyes turned to fury, and her voice grew even colder. "Why didn’t he come to see me himself? I waited for him for five hundred agonizing years. If he’s alive, is he unwilling to even grant me a single meeting?"

"I don’t believe that was the Cyan Emperor’s wish."

Yi Xiaoyao let out a soft sigh.

However, the Red Butterfly Saint Witch’s expression suddenly hardened. As if recalling something, she looked at Yi Xiaoyao with a sneer.

"So you’ve come up with a new trick this time? How many times have I told you people that the Cyan Emperor Order isn’t here? Still trying to deceive me? I’d like to see just how stubborn you can be!"

The moment she finished speaking, Killing Intent flashed in her eyes. Yi Xiaoyao was instantly engulfed by flames radiating a terrifyingly powerful Qi.

Yi Xiaoyao’s face fell. It seemed others had come to the Red Butterfly Saint Witch for the Cyan Emperor Order before, and they had apparently tried all sorts of tricks, even using the Cyan Emperor’s name to deceive her.

And now, she clearly mistook Yi Xiaoyao for one of them and intended to kill him.

"Wait!" Yi Xiaoyao cried out, flicking his wrist and sending a rib-shaped piece of wood flying toward her.

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch caught the piece of wood. Her expression finally changed, and she immediately waved away the flames surrounding Yi Xiaoyao.

"This is his rib... and his writing!"

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch looked at Yi Xiaoyao, her voice trembling with emotion as she asked urgently, "Where is he?"

Covered in a cold sweat, Yi Xiaoyao said with a lingering sense of dread, "For the past five hundred years, the Cyan Emperor was trapped at the bottom of the Sea of the Dead. And now... he has passed away."

There was naturally no need for Yi Xiaoyao to hide the truth from the Red Butterfly Saint Witch.

At first, the color drained from the Red Butterfly Saint Witch’s beautiful face. But when she heard the words "passed away," a look of doubt surfaced.

"With his power, even if he were trapped in the Sea of the Dead, he couldn’t have died..."

But before she could finish, she sensed the aura of the Heaven and Earth Wood Essence that Yi Xiaoyao was intentionally releasing, and she froze.

"He gave the Heaven and Earth Wood Essence to you?"

At that moment, the Red Butterfly Saint Witch finally believed that the Cyan Emperor was truly dead.

Yi Xiaoyao nodded. "Not just the Heaven and Earth Wood Essence. The Cyan Emperor passed all of his Cyan Wood Techniques on to me. That’s how I was able to perform the Cyan Wood Butterfly Dance."

"The Cyan Wood Butterfly Dance... That’s the Swordsmanship he and I created together..."

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch seemed to be lost in a memory. A wistful smile touched her lips, one that seemed sweet and full of happiness. But as two streams of tears traced paths to the corners of her mouth, that sweet memory turned unbearably bitter.

"Since he is already dead, why have you come looking for me?"

An eerie calm settled over the Red Butterfly Saint Witch’s face as she questioned Yi Xiaoyao.

"The Cyan Emperor entrusted me with the great responsibility of revitalizing the Cyan Wilderness, so I need the Cyan Emperor Order," Yi Xiaoyao replied without concealment.

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch remained just as calm. "When he gave me the Cyan Emperor Order, he swore an oath that he would marry me. I waited five hundred years for him to fulfill that oath. Now that he has failed to keep his word, what right does he have to demand the Cyan Emperor Order back from me?"

Yi Xiaoyao gave a wry smile. He finally understood why the Cyan Emperor Order was in her possession. It was the Cyan Emperor’s token of betrothal.

"The Cyan Emperor asked me to tell you, Saint Witch, that he let you down for five hundred years, but he cannot let down the Cyan Wilderness as well," Yi Xiaoyao said.

The corners of the Red Butterfly Saint Witch’s mouth turned up in a bitter smile. The weight of the words "let down" was immense.

"Fine. I’ll give you a chance."

Red Butterfly finally nodded. "In one month, I will open the Alchemy Dao Arena. If you can make it through, you will win my entire Alchemy Dao legacy. And if you can win my legacy, I will give you the Cyan Emperor Order."

After hearing her words, Yi Xiaoyao understood. It might have seemed like the Red Butterfly Saint Witch was making things difficult for him, but in reality, she was testing him while also offering him the great fortune of her Alchemy Dao legacy.

"Deal!" Yi Xiaoyao agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

No matter what, he had to obtain the Cyan Emperor Order to continue on his path.

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch asked another question. "Do you know Alchemy?"

"I do, but I can only craft Five-Stripe Elixirs," Yi Xiaoyao answered truthfully.

"If you can’t craft Six-Stripe Elixirs, how can you possibly expect to reach the end of the Alchemy Dao Arena?"

The Red Butterfly Saint Witch glanced at Yi Xiaoyao and said in a tone that brooked no refusal, "Until the Alchemy Dao Arena opens, you will remain here in my Holy Pill Hall and study the art of Alchemy."

Yi Xiaoyao quickly agreed and took it as his cue to leave.

Watching Yi Xiaoyao’s retreating figure, the Red Butterfly Saint Witch spoke softly to the Cyan Emperor’s rib in her hand. "The most I can do for you now is entrust the Holy Pill Hall to this boy you’ve chosen. Let the Holy Pill Hall become his bastion, his final refuge."

...

(Fell asleep while writing...)