Li Xian cast a helpless glance at Shen Qing, yet the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up in a doting smile.
How could he ever refuse what Shen Qing wanted to do?
He took out two talismans from his storage pouch and pasted them on Shen Qing and himself respectively. In an instant, True Lord Heng Ling in Shen Qing's guise and Nan Zhijin in Li Xian's guise appeared.
Thanks to the talisman, Shen Qing's aura and appearance became indistinguishable from True Lord Heng Ling's. Even True Lord Hong Hua might not be able to tell the fake from the real in a short period.
Shen Qing looked at the changes on himself with satisfaction. He coughed twice and imitated True Lord Heng Ling's manner and tone, saying, "Zhijin, since your junior brother is so incompetent, let's go and teach him a lesson."
Li Xian imitated Nan Zhijin's aloof look as if the whole world owed him money and replied coldly, "Yes, Master. Disciple obeys the order."
Then, the two looked at each other and couldn't help but burst into laughter, covering their mouths.
After what had just happened, Pei Xuanjing was in a state of emotional turmoil. He mechanically repeated those hurtful words until Shen Chuyun's face turned deathly pale. Only then did he feel a twinge of compassion.
As his memories flooded back, for a moment, he seemed to mistake Shen Chuyun for Shen Qing, and those hurtful words almost got stuck in his throat.
The more he said those words, the more complicated his feelings for Shen Qing became. The guilt and regret almost drowned him.
"Shen Chuyun, do you even know how much I hate it when you keep following me around? You, this stinky shadow, have lowered the reputation of the He Family."
He Yu seemed to be venting all his resentment on Shen Chuyun. His words became more and more excessive, paying no heed to Shen Chuyun's crumbling state.
"Second Senior Brother, why do you say such things to me? Big Senior Brother, do you think so too?"
Shen Chuyun's self - esteem was shattered by He Yu's words. He urgently needed someone to prove that he was useful and not a good - for - nothing!
But Pei Xuanjing's words were still as cold as ice: "What the second junior brother said is exactly what I think..."
"What's going on?"
Before Pei Xuanjing could finish his sentence, they heard True Lord Heng Ling's voice coming from behind. Shen Chuyun felt as if his savior had arrived and immediately perked up.
Pei Xuanjing and He Yu turned around in surprise and saw True Lord Heng Ling walking over with Nan Zhijin.
A hint of doubt flashed across their minds. They were all the ones captured by Ji Chongming into this Soul - Locking Banner. But Nan Zhijin didn't show up in the back mountain, and his soul surely couldn't be trapped in this Soul - Locking Banner.
The same was true for True Lord Heng Ling. In the Soul - Locking Banner, if a soul wasn't in this dream, the person created would be like a puppet without self - awareness.
But the appearance of these two meant that they had self - awareness.
Pei Xuanjing looked into True Lord Heng Ling's eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately recognized that although the person in front of him looked and smelled exactly like True Lord Heng Ling, he was actually not True Lord Heng Ling.
He... was Shen Qing!
Knowing this, Pei Xuanjing chose to keep silent. As usual, he bowed and obediently stepped aside. He also pulled He Yu, who was still standing there, away.
He Yu struggled for a moment and disgustedly shook off Pei Xuanjing's hand, extremely resistant to being touched by him.
Pei Xuanjing pursed his lips, knowing that what had just happened had left a big shadow in He Yu's heart. His eyes darkened.
"Master! Disciple pays respects to Master!"
Shen Chuyun excitedly walked up to True Lord Heng Ling, as if True Lord Heng Ling could be his backer.
But how could True Lord Heng Ling, whose core was Shen Qing, let Shen Chuyun have his way?
He raised his hand like an ordinary person and slapped Shen Chuyun across the face.
For a cultivator, this slap was of little physical harm but extremely humiliating.
Shen Chuyun's head was knocked to one side. He covered his face and stared at True Lord Heng Ling in disbelief: "Master, what mistake has disciple made that you should humiliate disciple like this?"
Shen Qing imitated True Lord Heng Ling's ridiculous aloofness and sneered.
"You are not on good terms with your senior brothers and have repeatedly committed the sin of slander in the sect. I have been dissatisfied with you for a long time. Moreover, you only managed to enter the sect because of Shen Qing, but you turned a blind eye to her and even spoke ill of her. Such an ungrateful person, don't you deserve this slap?"
Shen Chuyun went limp and knelt on the ground, his lips trembling.
In front of Pei Xuanjing and He Yu, the last shred of his dignity was torn off by Shen Qing.
"Master, you once said that I was gifted and that Shen Qing was as dull as a block of wood. I thought... you approved of me..."
There was a hint of a sob in Shen Chuyun's voice. The intense shame was about to crush him.
At the same time, a sharp pain came from the depths of his spiritual sea. In front of his eyes appeared the scene of Shen Qing begging him for help.
This scene was so real that he began to doubt whether he was in a dream or not.
Seeing that Shen Chuyun was on the verge of collapse after just a few simple words, Shen Qing knew how much he cared about this matter.
"Approve of you?"
"Heh, are you joking with me?"
"Although you have a single spiritual root, it is turbid. If it weren't for Shen Qing searching for spiritual herbs to cleanse your spiritual root, even if you had a single spiritual root, you wouldn't have caught my eye at all."
"In my eyes, you are good for nothing and always causing trouble. You are not even worth a hair of Shen Qing's. My praise for you was just a perfunctory."
"If I weren't your master, I would ignore you even if you passed by me."
The words came more and more smoothly from Shen Qing's mouth. He never knew that speaking hurtful words could be so satisfying. No wonder Shen Chuyun used to say such things to him casually.
Shen Chuyun's face was deathly pale. He covered his ears with both hands and shook his head desperately: "No, no, no, Master, I'm not like this!"
"Everything I've achieved is through my own efforts, not because of Shen Qing!"
"Not Shen Qing, not Shen Qing. Shen Qing... She's dead. She was torn to pieces by demons, and her spiritual bones were sent in front of Junior Sister Bai..."
"Was it... was it us who killed her?"
A flood of memories rushed in, and Shen Chuyun couldn't tell the reality in front of him anymore. He murmured to himself, recounting the scenes he saw.
Shen Qing raised an eyebrow. When she heard what Shen Chuyun said, she knew that Shen Chuyun had also recalled his past life.
It wasn't just Shen Chuyun. Pei Xuanjing and He Yu were the same.
Seeing that the goal had been achieved, Shen Qing didn't want to wear the guise of True Lord Heng Ling any longer. She tore off the talisman on her back, and she and Li Xian instantly returned to their original appearances.
Pei Xuanjing already knew the truth, so he didn't show a surprised expression. On the contrary, He Yu was startled for a moment and then quickly regained his composure.
Seeing Shen Qing, their feelings were extremely complicated.
Especially when they recalled how miserably Shen Qing had died in the past life, they all felt that they were no longer worthy to stand in front of Shen Qing.
They had all let Shen Qing down.
But if they really had to find a culprit, they definitely didn't think it was themselves. There was someone else.
That person must be Lin Yibai!
They knew that the Lin Yibai who appeared in the previous dream was the real one, and his soul might even be hiding nearby.
A hint of cruelty flashed in Pei Xuanjing's eyes.
It was time to settle some old and new scores.