The Legend of the Princess' Counterattack

Chapter 357 Frank Communication

Chu Mochen waited for many days near Yun Yao's training chamber, full of anxiety and regret. He knew that Yun Yao's retreat was crucial to her practice, and he also understood how much harm his recklessness had caused her. Therefore, he could only wait silently, hoping that when Yun Yao came out of retreat, he would have the opportunity to confide in her and save this relationship that he cherished so much.

On this day, the stone door of the secret room swayed slowly, and a wave of spiritual power came out. Chu Mochen was instantly alert and came to the stone door in a flash. The stone door opened and Yun Yao walked out slowly. She was surrounded by spiritual energy. It was obvious that her cultivation had improved and she had successfully advanced from the foundation-building stage to the condensed pill stage. But even though her strength had improved, the fatigue and complex emotions in her eyes were still clearly visible.

The moment he saw Yun Yao, Chu Mochen's eyes were slightly hot. He opened his mouth, but didn't know where to start. Yun Yao looked up at him, a flash of surprise in her eyes, and then she returned to indifference, trying to walk around him and leave.

"Yun Yao, wait!" Chu Mochen hurriedly stretched out his hand to stop her, but just before he touched her, he abruptly retracted his hand, fearing that he would annoy her again. "Please, give me some time to listen to what I have to say."

Yun Yao paused and was silent for a moment. Finally, she nodded slightly and stood still.

Seeing this, Chu Mochen felt relieved. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He stared into Yun Yao's eyes and spoke slowly: "Yun Yao, these days I have repeatedly recalled every scene since we met, from the tense situation when we first met to the life and death we experienced together later. Those memories are like a brand, deeply engraved in my heart. I really regret it. At the beginning, I believed Liu Yan'er's provocation and misunderstood you. How could I be so confused that I didn't see her sinister intentions and hurt you so deeply." At this point, his voice trembled slightly, full of self-blame.

Yun Yao listened quietly, with a subtle touch of emotion in her eyes. She thought of the little things she had experienced with Chu Mochen in the past, the tacit understanding when they faced powerful enemies together, the worry and concern when they were hurt, how could she forget them so easily? But the pain of being misunderstood made her feel scared, and she dared not give her true heart easily again.

"I know that no matter how many times I say sorry now, it will not be enough to make up for the harm I have caused you." Seeing that Yun Yao's expression had eased a little, Chu Mochen mustered up the courage to continue, "But I hope you can understand that from the moment I realized how wrong I was, I swore that I would win you back and spend the rest of my life making up for my mistakes."

He paused for a moment, then pulled out a jade pendant that emitted a warm glow from his bosom and handed it to Yun Yao: "This is something I found by chance during my training. It is said that it contains unique spiritual power and is quite beneficial to cultivation. I found this jade pendant and wanted to give you a surprise when you came out of retreat. I hope it can help your cultivation. It is also a small token of my appreciation."

Yun Yao's eyes fell on the jade pendant, and she could feel the great spiritual power contained in it. She knew in her heart that Chu Mochen must have spent a lot of effort to find it. She subconsciously wanted to reach out and take it, but when her fingertips were about to touch the jade pendant, she suddenly retracted it.

"Chu Mochen, I..." Yun Yao hesitated as she was about to speak, her heart full of entanglement. She had actually forgiven him somewhat in her heart, but the fear of having been hurt in the past was always with her, making her dare not take this step easily.

Seeing this, Chu Mochen's eyes flashed with disappointment, but he quickly cheered up and said softly: "Yun Yao, I understand that you are still worried. I won't force you to accept me immediately. I just want you to know that my feelings for you have never changed. In the days to come, I will always stay by your side until you completely let go of your worries and accept me again. No matter what difficulties you encounter, I am willing to face them with you, just like before."

Yun Yao bit her lower lip and looked up at Chu Mochen. His eyes were sincere and firm, reflecting her figure, as if there was nothing else in the world. After a long time, she sighed softly: "Chu Mochen, I know your feelings, but I still need time. I hope you can give me this time."

Chu Mochen's eyes flashed with surprise, and he nodded quickly: "Okay, as long as you are willing to give me a chance, I will wait for as long as it takes. Yunyao, you can rest assured to do what you want to do and pursue your path of cultivation. I will always be behind you and support you silently."

Yun Yao nodded slightly and turned to leave. Just after taking a few steps, she seemed to remember something and turned back to say, "The sect seems to have made some unusual moves recently. I heard some rumors and I'm afraid there will be trouble. You should also be more careful and don't let me distract you and delay your own practice."

Chu Mochen felt warm in his heart and smiled, "I've made a note of it, and so have you. If there's anything, let's discuss it together."

Looking at Yun Yao's departing figure, Chu Mochen clenched his fists and secretly vowed that he would doubly protect her in the future and never let her suffer any grievances again. Although Yun Yao had not completely let go, the ice in her heart began to melt quietly under Chu Mochen's frank communication. She knew that her feelings for Chu Mochen had never really disappeared, but it took time to heal the wounds and accept this passionate love again.

In the following days, Chu Mochen did as he said, and did not bother Yun Yao too much, but just silently paid attention to Yun Yao's every move. Yun Yao devoted herself to the consolidation of the Judan realm, trying to further tap her potential and improve her strength. However, the road of cultivation is never smooth, and as she deepened her cultivation, she gradually felt an invisible bottleneck, like an indestructible barrier, blocking her from moving to a higher realm.

Every time she tried to break through, she was met with disorder and backlash of spiritual power. The severe pain in her body almost made Yun Yao collapse. She sat alone in the secret room of practice, her clothes soaked with sweat, her face as pale as snow, and her eyes full of unwillingness and anxiety.

"Why am I always one step short..." Yun Yao muttered to herself, clenching her hands tightly, her nails digging into her palms, and bright red blood seeping out, but she was completely unaware.

Just when Yun Yao was in trouble, the stone door of the secret room was knocked gently.

"Yun Yao, it's me, Chu Mochen." A familiar voice came from outside the door, gentle and concerned, "I heard that you seemed to have encountered difficulties in your cultivation, so I came to see you. I know you want to practice alone, but if there is anything I can help with, please don't be stubborn, let's find a solution together."

Yun Yao felt warm in her heart. After hesitating for a moment, she stood up and opened the stone door.

Outside the door, Chu Mochen's face was full of worry. Seeing Yun Yao's haggard appearance, he felt distressed: "What are you doing..."

Yun Yao shook her head slightly and said with a wry smile: "I want to break through the bottleneck of the Judan Realm, but I can't find the trick, and I have been repeatedly attacked by spiritual power. I am afraid that my aptitude is limited."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Chu Mochen interrupted her hurriedly, his eyes firm, "You were able to travel through time from the modern times, and rely on your own efforts to gain a foothold in this cultivation world, and break through to the Judan realm. How can your aptitude be limited? There must be something wrong with this breakthrough method. Let's study it together, and we can always find a way out."

After that, he pulled Yun Yao to the stone table in the secret room, and the two sat opposite each other. Chu Mochen stretched out his hand, gently grasped Yun Yao's wrist, and slowly inserted his own spiritual power into her, trying to help her sort out the disordered spiritual power.

For a moment, the spiritual power in the secret room flowed and the light flickered. Chu Mochen frowned, concentrating on feeling the trajectory of the spiritual power in Yun Yao's body, trying to find out the problem. After a long time, he opened his eyes, and a flash of realization flashed in his eyes.

"Yun Yao, I think I know what the problem is." Chu Mochen released his hand, looking excited. "Although your previous cultivation method can quickly accumulate spiritual power, your foundation is a little unstable, which leads to a lack of follow-up when breaking through the bottleneck. We just need to adjust the cultivation method, consolidate the foundation, and then slowly work hard, and we will definitely be able to break through."

Yun Yao heard this and a fire of hope lit up in her eyes: "Really?"

"Of course!" Chu Mochen said with a smile, "How could I lie to you? Come, I will accompany you and practice again according to the new method."

In the following days, Chu Mochen put aside his own practice and accompanied Yun Yao wholeheartedly to adjust her practice method. He patiently explained every detail to Yun Yao and guided her step by step to circulate her spiritual power and consolidate her foundation. With his help, Yun Yao gradually regained her confidence and her practice gradually improved.

One day, Yun Yao was practicing and suddenly her body was radiant with light. A powerful spiritual power wave spread out from her. The spiritual power in the secret room seemed to be summoned and rushed into her body crazily.

"I'm about to break through!" Yun Yao shouted in surprise.

Chu Mochen watched nervously from the side, clenching his fists, excited and nervous. Yun Yao closed her eyes, her face was firm, and her spiritual power became more and more powerful. With a clear whistle, she successfully broke through the bottleneck of the Judan realm, and her strength rose again.

"Great!" Chu Mochen rushed forward excitedly and hugged Yun Yao in his arms. Yun Yao was stunned at first, then she reached out and gently hugged him back. At this moment, the gap between the two of them completely dissipated, and the past misunderstandings and hurts turned into the warmth of hugging each other at this moment.

"Thank you, Chu Mochen." Yun Yao said softly, with a hint of sob in her voice, "If it weren't for you, I'm afraid it would be difficult for me to break through this bottleneck."

"Silly girl, why are you thanking me?" Chu Mochen let go of her and looked into her eyes tenderly. "Your business is my business. From now on, we will work together. Nothing can separate us."

Yun Yao nodded slightly, her eyes full of determination and happiness. However, before they could fully enjoy this warm moment, a rapid bell rang from the sect.

"This is... an emergency call!" Chu Mochen's face changed, "I'm afraid something big has happened, let's go and take a look."

The two looked at each other, hurriedly tidied their clothes, and rushed to the sect's main hall. Along the way, they saw many disciples with panicked expressions and hurried movements. The atmosphere was so solemn that it seemed as if a storm was about to come.

When they arrived at the main hall, they saw the elders of the sect gathered together with heavy faces. The disciples also arrived one after another, whispering to each other, speculating what had happened.

"Quiet!" The head elder shouted angrily, and the hall fell silent in an instant. "I didn't want to disturb your practice today, but the situation is urgent, so I have to call you all here. Recently, there was a traitor in the sect, and the secret skills were leaked. A mysterious dark force learned of this and has been gathering in secret, ready to make a move. Their target is the ancient artifact in our sect. This artifact is related to the rise and fall of our sect, and it must not fall into the hands of the enemy."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was in an uproar. Yun Yao and Chu Mochen looked at each other, and both saw solemnity and worry in each other's eyes.

"How should we respond now?" an elder asked.

The head elder shook his head slightly and sighed, "We don't have a perfect plan yet. The dark forces are extremely mysterious and their strength is unpredictable. We know very little about them. Right now, we can only collect intelligence and understand the enemy's strengths and weaknesses before we can formulate a countermeasure."

"Elder, Yun Yao and I are willing to go!" Chu Mochen stepped forward, "We have been out for training many times before, and we have a lot of experience. We will definitely be able to find useful information."

The head elder glanced at them and nodded slightly: "Alright, you two have great cultivation and are very smart. We feel more at ease leaving this matter to you. But you must be careful and don't reveal your whereabouts. If you encounter danger, return immediately."

"Yes!" Yun Yao and Chu Mochen answered in unison.

After receiving the order, the two quickly returned to their rooms to prepare. They knew that this mission was extremely dangerous. If they were not careful, not only would their lives be in danger, but they might also bring trouble to the sect. Therefore, both of them brought the most sophisticated magic weapons and adjusted their own conditions to the best.

Everything was ready, and they quietly left the sect under the cover of night. The moonlight was like water, sprinkling on the road ahead of them, as if covering them with a layer of silver yarn, but it could not dispel the unknown haze ahead.

Yun Yao and Chu Mochen hurried all the way, heading for the area where the dark forces were rumored to be. In order to avoid attracting attention, they disguised themselves as an ordinary couple of casual cultivators. Along the way, they carefully paid attention to the movements around them, not missing any suspicious signs.

They walked to a remote forest, the night was deep, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. Suddenly, a slight sound of footsteps came, although it was almost inaudible, but Yun Yao and Chu Mochen were both alert and tensed their nerves instantly.

"Be careful!" Chu Mochen reminded in a low voice, while protecting Yun Yao behind him, holding the sword tightly in his right hand, and looking ahead vigilantly.

I saw several black shadows flashing through the woods at an extremely fast speed, like ghosts. Yun Yao and Chu Mochen looked at each other, understood each other, and followed quietly.

The shadow moved freely in the forest, as if it was very familiar with the terrain. Yun Yao and Chu Mochen did not dare to follow too closely, and could only rely on their keen perception to keep a distance. However, the further they went, the thicker the fog in the forest became, obstructing their vision and making it more difficult to track.

“We can’t lose them. They must be related to the dark forces.” Yun Yao said in a low voice with a firm look in her eyes.

Chu Mochen nodded slightly, and used his spiritual power to try to dispel the mist in front of him. But the mist seemed to have a spirit, and just after it was dispersed a little, it quickly gathered back.

Just when they were distracted for a moment, the black shadow in front of them suddenly disappeared, as if it had never appeared.

"Oh no, I lost him!" Yun Yao frowned.

"Don't worry, let's look around, they should still be nearby." Chu Mochen comforted.

The two of them separated and searched the surroundings carefully. Suddenly, Yun Yao sensed a weak spiritual power fluctuation. She walked in the direction of the fluctuation and saw a cave hidden behind the mountain wall. The entrance of the cave was covered by some vines. If you didn't observe carefully, it would be easy to miss it.

"Chu Mochen, over here!" Yun Yao called softly.

Chu Mochen came over after hearing the sound, and the two looked at each other and approached the cave cautiously. As soon as they approached the cave entrance, they heard faint conversations coming from inside.

"We must be careful and cautious in this operation. It is said that the ancient artifact is extremely powerful. Once we get it, we will have no rivals in the world of cultivation."

"Humph, that sect is no pushover. I heard they've already noticed something and sent people to investigate."

"It doesn't matter. They won't be able to find out anything. We will proceed according to the plan. First, we will find out where the artifact is, and then find a chance to take action."

Yun Yao and Chu Mochen were shocked. It seemed that they had found the right place. They quietly approached the cave entrance, trying to hear more information. However, at this moment, a night owl suddenly flew over the cave and made a shrill cry.

"Who's outside!" A loud shout suddenly came from the cave, and then several black shadows rushed out quickly.

Yun Yao and Chu Mochen reacted very quickly and drew their swords in an instant. A fierce battle was inevitable. The dark forces had high cultivation and sharp moves, each of which was deadly. Yun Yao and Chu Mochen stood back to back, cooperating with each other. With their tacit sword skills and superb spiritual power control, they did not lose out for a while.

"Hmph, I didn't expect you would dare to come to my door!" The leading man in black snorted coldly, swung the sword in his hand, and a black sword energy struck Yun Yao like lightning.

Yun Yao dodged to the side, avoiding the sword energy, and at the same time stabbed the opponent's throat with a backhanded sword. Seeing this, the man in black quickly dodged to the side, but Chu Mochen took the opportunity to attack, and a spiritual power palm print slapped his back, knocking him back and spitting blood.

"This is a tricky idea. Let's attack together!" Seeing this, the other men in black shouted angrily, their voices were deafening and echoed throughout the valley. They rushed towards Yun Yao and Chu Mochen like hungry wolves, and the siege became more and more fierce, like an airtight net that tightly enveloped the two.

Yun Yao and Chu Mochen were trapped in a tight encirclement, and gradually felt a little overwhelmed. Although they were both highly skilled in martial arts, they were inevitably careless in the face of the crazy attacks of so many men in black. In just a short while, they had several deep and shallow wounds on their bodies, and blood flowed out, staining their clothes red. However, the two did not retreat, but gritted their teeth and fought with all their strength. Because they knew very well that if they relaxed at this time and were captured by these men in black, not only would their lives be in danger, but even their sects would be in an irreparable situation.

As the situation became more and more critical, Yun Yao suddenly had an idea. She suddenly remembered that she had seen a wonderful formation in an ancient secret book before, which might help them get out of the current predicament. Thinking of this, Yun Yao hurriedly shouted to Chu Mochen: "Brother Chu, I remember there is a formation that can resist the enemy's siege. Let's give it a try!" Chu Mochen heard this, and a glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in his eyes. He nodded without hesitation and said: "Okay, as you say!" So, while the two of them struggled to resist the attack of the man in black, they began to arrange the mysterious formation according to the method in their memory...