172: Memory Fragments and Void Echoes

When Liu Shan's gaze fell on Lin Qingxue's face, it carried a pure sense of unfamiliarity, as if he were looking at someone he didn't know at all.

He subconsciously took half a step back, his fingertips gathering a faint wisp of Light and Darkness Power, laced with a hint of vigilance—an instinctive reaction when facing the unknown.

Lin Qingxue's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, the warmth from her fingertips seemingly drained away in an instant.

She looked at the still-bright Three-colored Imprint between his brows and his familiar facial features, but her throat felt as if it were blocked by something, unable to make a sound.

How could this happen?

The lingering warmth from the dissipating beam of light still remained in the air, the cyan-gold radiance of the stone pillar cluster gradually fading, and the wind across the distant grassland swept up black dust, making a wailing sound as if mourning for something lost.

"Who are you?" Liu Shan spoke again, the vigilance in his voice thickening.

He lowered his head to look at his hands, then touched the imprint between his brows, his eyes filled with confusion, "Who... am I?"

The memories were not just about her; even his own sense of self had become blurred.

Lin Qingxue's heart felt as if it had been pierced by an ice pick, the pain so sharp she could barely breathe.

But she forced herself to calm down, her fingertips quietly tightening around the token in her palm—the token was still hot, maintaining a faint resonance with the Three-colored Imprint on Liu Shan's brow, which meant he hadn't disappeared, just temporarily lost his way.

"My name is Lin Qingxue." She tried to make her voice sound as calm as possible, "We are friends and came here together."

"Lin Qingxue..." Liu Shan repeated the name, his brows slightly furrowed as if struggling to recall, yet he could remember nothing.

He shook his head, the Light and Darkness Power dissipating, but his vigilance remained, "I don't remember."

Just then, his chest robes shifted slightly, and a semi-transparent jade pendant slid out from within.

Carved on the jade pendant was a biye flower, the very one Lin Qingxue had given him back then.

Upon contacting the air, the jade pendant immediately emitted a soft cyan-gold radiance, resonating strongly with the token in Lin Qingxue's palm.

Liu Shan's body jolted, his eyes becoming momentarily dazed as if fragments were flashing back in his mind—the biye flower by the spiritual field, the sound of water droplets at Chenyuan Lake, holding hands inside the blood-colored light gate...

"biye flower..." he murmured, the unfamiliarity in his eyes fading slightly.

Lin Qingxue's heart stirred, and she hurriedly took out the small booklet Liu Shan had left behind from her embrace, opened to the last page, and presented the side with the drawing of the biye flower to him: "Look, you drew this. You said you would return when the flowers filled the valley."

Liu Shan's gaze fell on the booklet, his pupils slightly contracting.

More fragments flooded in—the Pill Furnace in front of the stone house, the Light and Darkness Taiji in the Ancient Ruin, the golden stream in the underground garden... These fragments were like a broken mirror, flickering on and off, yet unable to piece together a complete picture.

"Luoxia Valley..." His voice carried a trace of uncertainty, and his hand reached out toward the booklet involuntarily, but just as his fingertips were about to touch the paper, he pulled back sharply, his eyes becoming dazed again, "No... I seem to have forgotten something more important."

He clutched his head, a painful expression appearing on his face, the Three-colored Imprint between his brows flickering violently as if struggling against some invisible force.

Just as Lin Qingxue wanted to step forward, the surrounding space suddenly shook violently!

From the remains of the black stone pillars in the center of the cluster, wisps of black mist suddenly seeped out; this mist was similar to the previous Void power but thinner, like some kind of lingering echo.

The mist condensed in the air into countless tiny black shadows; these shadows were not aggressive, merely repeating the same action—reaching out their hands as if trying to grasp something.

"Is this... a remnant echo of the Void?" Lin Qingxue frowned, the token in her palm heating up again, but this time, it did not transmit a gentle resonance, but rather a cold, malicious sense of being watched.

Liu Shan seemed to be startled by these black shadows as well, his painful expression easing slightly, and his eyes becoming vigilant once more.

He subconsciously stood in front of Lin Qingxue, Light and Darkness Power gathering once again; although his movements were clumsy, it was still a defensive stance.

This instinctive action made Lin Qingxue's eyes instantly moisten.

The black shadows suddenly stopped their repetitive actions and turned in unison toward the same direction—the east side of the stone pillar cluster, where the purple sky was rapidly darkening, forming a massive vortex; in the center of the vortex, a giant eye could be vaguely seen, its pupil pure black, coldly watching them.

"It hasn't disappeared!" Lin Qingxue's expression instantly became grave.

That eye was clearly the main body of the Void; although severely damaged by the power of the World Core before, it had not completely dissipated but was hiding in the Void Realm, waiting for a chance to make a comeback.

It had clearly sensed Liu Shan's abnormality and wanted to take advantage of his amnesia and unstable power to devour them completely!

Countless black threads extended from the vortex; these threads were thinner than the previous shadow claws but carried stronger corrosiveness, silently spreading toward the stone pillar cluster, and wherever they passed, even the space was corroded, leaving tiny cracks.

"Run!" Lin Qingxue grabbed Liu Shan's hand and turned to run outside the stone pillar cluster.

Although bewildered, Liu Shan followed her obediently, Light and Darkness Power forming a faint shield behind him, blocking the first few black threads that attacked.

But the black threads grew more and more numerous, quickly surrounding the stone pillar cluster, forming a giant net that trapped them in the center.

"We'll be entangled if this continues!" Lin Qingxue looked at the approaching threads, anxious and frantic.

She looked at Liu Shan, "Can you remember how to control the Light and Darkness Power? We need to work together to break through a gap!"

Liu Shan furrowed his brows, seemingly struggling to recall, the Light and Darkness Power flickering in his palm, unable to stabilize: "I... seem to have forgotten the method."

The black threads were already within reach, the foremost ones having touched the shield, emitting a sizzling corrosive sound.

Lin Qingxue's heart jumped into her throat.

She looked at Liu Shan's dazed eyes, looked at his arm subconsciously protecting her, and suddenly made a decision.

She let go of his hand, turned to face him, stood on tiptoe, and gently kissed his lips.

This kiss was light, but it carried all her Lingmai Power and memory fragments—the morning light of Luoxia Valley, the starlight of the Ancient Ruin, the tears of the underground garden...

Liu Shan's body instantly froze.

The instant their lips touched, those broken mirrors in his mind suddenly lit up, piecing together into a complete picture!

He saw their first meeting by the spiritual field, holding hands at the blood-colored valley gate, the promise at the gate of Reincarnation, every gaze, every embrace, every time he said "I'm back"...

"Qingxue..."

He finally called her name, his voice trembling with the joy of regaining what was lost, the confusion in his eyes completely dissipating, replaced by familiar tenderness and determination.

The Three-colored Imprint between his brows erupted with blinding radiance, the Light and Darkness Power perfectly fusing with the power of the World Core, forming a longsword intertwined with light and darkness in his palm.

At the same time, the token in Lin Qingxue's palm also erupted with radiance, resonating with his longsword.

The two smiled at each other, no words needed, their hearts connected.

They turned simultaneously, the radiance of the longsword and the token interweaving into a massive blade of light, slashing fiercely toward the net formed by the black threads!

Wherever the blade of light passed, the black threads instantly dissolved, tearing open a massive gap.

But just as they were preparing to rush out of the gap, the eye in the Void Realm vortex suddenly lit up with red light!

A black beam of light, thicker than any previous attack, shot out from the vortex, ignoring the defense of the light blade, and aimed straight for Liu Shan's brow!

This beam of light contained pure power of oblivion, clearly intending to erase his memories again, or even completely destroy his Divine Soul!

Liu Shan's pupils contracted sharply.

He looked at the rapidly approaching beam of light, then looked at Lin Qingxue beside him, and suddenly made a move that caught her off guard.

He shoved her away forcefully and rushed headlong toward the black beam of light himself!

"Liu Shan! No!" Lin Qingxue let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Liu Shan turned his head, revealing a familiar, gentle smile to her, his voice clearly reaching her ears:

"This time, it's my turn to remember you."

His figure collided with the black beam of light, erupting in blinding radiance.

In the radiance, Lin Qingxue seemed to see countless memory fragments flying out from his body, flying toward her like fireflies and merging into her brow.

And Liu Shan's figure gradually became transparent in the light, the Three-colored Imprint between his brows also beginning to slowly fade.

The Void Realm vortex let out a victorious roar, and more black beams of light shot toward Lin Qingxue, who had lost her defense!