《My Darling Sick Beauty》


 CH 1

    Blood dripped down the blade of the sword on to the ground.


    Jiang Zheliu grasped Ling Xiao Sword, the faint noise of the last of his exhausted energy came from his fingertips, bruises appeared where he was grasping the sword.


    He could no longer detect any trace of internal force within his body.


    At present all there was left was the red fresh blood rolling down Ling Xiao Sword, dying the ground a crimson red inch by inch.


    Jiang Zheliu held himself up.


    The meridians in his body had long been pulverized by the impact of the Realm Boundary, right now he is only able to still stand and hold his sword because he had reached the half-step Gold Immortal Stage.


    An unending stream of spiritual energy was being extracted from Earth but after the Realm Boundary was fixed, it immediately stopped.


    The sky was covered with thick clouds, the sun was red like blood.


    Jiang Zheliu closed his eyes, the pitch blackness in front of him calmed his mind, he paused for a moment, then opened them again, turned around, putting the Ling Xiao Sword back into its scabbard.


    The Ling Xiao Sword is the sword adorned by the head of the Ling Xiao Sect, and is a symbol representing the highest authority in the sect.


    The sword subdued itself in Jiang Xueliu¡¯s palm, emitting a deep trembling whine, before falling abruptly silent, without another sound.


    When Jiang Zheliu turned around, the clouds spread and expanded behind him, and the glow of the waning sun stained the clouds in a stunning way. At this moment, his long hair, originally black like ink turned a snow white.


    The Realm Boundary was repaired, and the catastrophe that the world faced had disappeared thanks to his lone effort.


    Zhu Wuxin who was standing not far from him, looked towards him.


    He watched as his Zhangmen Shixiong¡¯s deathly white, snowy hair broke free from the restraint of the hair ornament and was blown around by the wind finally landing around his ears. He watched as the blood dripped from his never-dusty robes, the red patches gradually expanding and evolving into a blindingly bright red.


    He watched as Jiang Zheliu sheathed his sword, watched the bottomless red clouds spread behind him, as if heaven and earth were parting to send him off.


    Zhu Wuxin didn¡¯t know if his shixiong wanted to die.


    He stared at the Ling Xiao Sword.


    At the same time, he was also watching his shixiong, who had always been overpowering him for more than a thousand years.


    Jiang Zheliu had wanted to suppress the channels of his meridians that were drumming randomly and running around in his body, so that he could calmly instruct Zhu Wuxin, but he couldn¡¯t suppress it and after just two steps, he was slowed down by the pain in his five organs and stopped for a moment while bracing himself against his sword sheath, a metallic substance spread across the corners of his lips.


    Zhu Wuxin didn¡¯t go to help him.


    The clouds swelled, and the residual haze spread, with the surging spiritual energy revived, the originally silent dead plants came back to life, sprouting from the cracks in the rocks beneath their feet, all living things regenerated.


    Jiang Zheliu avoided standing on the newly sprouted grass shoots under his feet and handed Zhu Wuxin the Ling Xiao sword.


    ¡°Shixiong¡± Zhu Wuxin took the sword, he looked behind Jiang Zheliu¡¯s back ¡°Why did you go alone, if there were others assisting you¡­¡­¡±


    The Realm Boundary of the Great Thousand World Realm can only be touched by half-step Golden Immortals, are you able to find another in the Cultivation World.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s voice, just like before, cold and almost emotionless. He was alway detached and indifferent, seemingly to everyone.


    Zhu Wuxin¡¯s grip on the sword tightened, his finger bones turning slightly white. He sighed and said, ¡°Even at this time, shixiong still refuses to say more than a few words to me.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin raised his eyes and looked at his slightly tired brows, from which he could not find a trace of affection, nor could he find any trace of regret nor dissatisfaction in the other party, only a deep pool of calm and coldness remained.


    To be honest at this point¡­¡­


    Jiang Zheliu had been depleted entirely of spiritual energy in his body and he could be put to death with a simple lift of his hand. The Ling Xiao Sword had arrived in his hand, and henceforth he, Zhu Wuxin, would no longer have such a shixiong pressing down on his head before him.


    But even at this point in time, Jiang Zheliu was still so arrogant.


    ¡°Does shixiong have a place to go?¡±


    Zhu Wuxin was reluctant to keep him, his prestige in the Ling Xiao Sect and the whole Cultivation World was too prestigious, he had dominated for a thousand years and was recognized by the world as the head of the Immortal Sect, Ling Xiao Sect. If Jiang Zheliu was kept in the sect, even if he was a heavily injured sick person, Zhu Wuxin was afraid that it would be difficult for him to pry the position out of his hands.


    Jiang Zheliu knew what Zhu Wuxin was thinking, he turned to look at the remnant sunset, after a moment he said: ¡°I¡¯m going to Zhongnan Mountain.¡±


    It was the place where the bones of Ling Xiao¡¯s previous Zhangmen were buried. It was extremely remote, far from human habitation, and there were many small demons who lived there so it did not seem to be suitable for habitation.


    ¡°Zhongnan Mountain.¡± Zhu Wuxin repeated the place, looked at his head of snow-white hair, suddenly raised his hand, and wiped away the undried blood on the other¡¯s lips, and smiled, ¡°It is a good place for shixiong to recover from his injuries at ease.¡±


    The fingertips gently rubbed the corners of the lips, with a softness different from his usual temperament.


    ¡°Recover¡­¡­¡± Jiang Zheliu evaded this, and said ¡°To die in front of shifu¡¯s gravestone is a worthy way to go.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu closed his eyes trying to regulate his mind to reduce the dizziness, after that he picked up his foot as if to leave.


    He was not steady at this step, he was a little staggered, but Zhu Wuxin caught him in the next moment and held his arms steady.


    ¡°Shixiong, wait, wait a moment.¡±Zhu Wuxin suddenly felt that he was about to lose something, and he was a little flustered for no reason. ¡°The Realm Boundary of the Great Thousand Worlds Realm has been repaired, and the sects should know immediately. They will soon come to Ling Xiao to say thanks to shixiong, shixiong¡­¡±


    His supporting hand was slowly pushed away. The shixiong who stood before him was as he remembered, unruffled after any calamity, as if he had been born strong and resilient and would not let anyone find any weakness on him.


    The lamp swayed about on the roof of the carriage, the driver stopped his horse and said to him, ¡°We are almost approaching the place that gongzi wishes to go, there is only a section of road ahead that the carriage can go, and then you will have to go up the mountain ¡­¡­ where there are many demons, this old man really does not dare.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu asked£º¡°What time is it now£¿¡±


    ¡°Almost yinshi.¡±


    At this time, all of the other sects must already know that the Realm Boundary has been repaired and be on their way to Ling Xiao Sect.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s old habits were hard to change, and he would always think about the sect first, but this time, he didn¡¯t think of it in the same way as he did before, and he didn¡¯t think of it in a far-reaching way, but in a calm and natural way.


    After some time, they arrived at Zhongnan Mountain. The carriage stopped and the driver put down a small stool. When he got up looking up, he saw a hand separating the curtains of the carriage, the knuckles were delicate, the nails were rounded and white, almost as if carved from beautiful jade.


    The driver subconsciously held his breath as he saw this gongzi pressed into a very heavy plush cloak, his long snow-coloured hair only half tied back, his features handsome and cold, his eyes dark, with no glimmer in them, and his body tainted with a bitter ice coldness that made people almost want to back away.


    The carriage driver felt that the wind and snow did not look as cold as this gongzi looked.


    But when he helped him, he felt that this gentleman was unstable and weak, as if he was only hanging on by a thread.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Jiang Zheliu paid him the rest of the fare, then looked up at the familiar shape of the mountain.


    In the past, when the shifu died, it was he and his shidi who buried and entombed his bones here. On his deathbed, his shifu entrusted him to take care of the Ling Xiao Sect and Wuxin.


    Now that his mission had been fulfilled and his cultivation had been destroyed, he is no different from a mere mortal.


    The Ling Xiao Sect, the Cultivation World, and all beings within this Divine World no longer need him.


    Jiang Zheliu stretched out his hand and tightened his cloak on his shoulders, stepping on the thick snow all over the ground.


    For the first time since he had started cultivating, he re-experienced the cold of the world today.


    Jiang Zheliu walked across the snow, until he reached the snow-covered tombstone.


    He knelt down, stretched out his hand to dust off the snow on the gravestone, and stared at the engraving upon it for a long time. He had countless things to say, but he didn¡¯t know where to start.


    Jiang Zheliu was an orphan since he was a child. When he was three years old, he was brought back to the Ling Xiao by Zhu Wenyuan. Since then, his shifu became his parent, and Ling Xiao Sect his home.


    The moonlight shone belatedly.


    Jiang Zheliu thought about it for a long time and then finally said£º¡°Wuxin is all grown up.¡±


    He said: ¡°I¡¯ve come to keep you company.¡±

 CH 2

    Ling Xiao Sect.


    The room was filled with all the righteous leaders of each Sect, but the atmosphere was as heavy as lava, making it hard to breathe.


    Zhu Wuxin was sitting in the seat of the Zhangmen, informing them all of the departure of Jiang Zheliu whilst playing with the Ling Xiao Sword¡¯s sword tassel the whole time whilst he waited for a response.


    The tension in the room increased in the silence.


    Until finally someone couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and slapped his sword on the tabletop, then stood up and cursed: ¡°Xianzun has suffered severe injuries and you dare to let him leave. You¡¯ve wholeheartedly done this as a power play, I can¡¯t let get away with this shixiong£¡¡±


    The more Jin Yujie cursed, the bigger his rage, he picked up his Qixing Sword that he had just slapped onto the table, unsheathed it pointing it directly at Zhu Wuxin and said coldly£º¡°Qianbei has done us such a kindness and now not only can we not even repay him, we even have to watch as you trample over him to get to the top, if your Ling Xiao Sect won¡¯t take him of him, I will£¡¡±


    The other people didn¡¯t dare to move£¬only the person sat next to Zhu Wuxin who was fanning his fan back and forth said lightly£º¡°No need for your Peerless Sword Pavilion Sect, with me, Wang Wenyuan here, Heaven Pavilion Sect will welcome the return of Xianzun and treat his illness.¡±


    Jin Yujie didn¡¯t feel like paying any attention to him, his focus was solely on Zhu Wuxin the whole time, he said£º¡°Qianbei protected Ling Xiao, destroyed his cultivation to protect the world, yet he¡¯s ended up with no one to care for him. If you as his shidi still have even the slightest bit of conscience left, you will tell me where Xianzun has gone, and I will go pick him up.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin slowly gripped the long sword in his hand then bit his bottom lip£º ¡°Although my shixiong no longer has his cultivation, he can be considered the most intelligent man in the Cultivation World, Junior Sect Master Jin, when you speak like this, you are not really thinking about my shixiong.¡±


    He frowned coldly, his words even colder£º¡°The Ling Xiao Sect has opened the way for all beings in the world, but instead of repaying me, you slander me. This sword was personally entrusted to me by Shixiong. Junior Sect Master Jin do you want to be the first to be disciplined by this sword£¿¡±


    Ling Xiao Sword was a spiritual object that was passed down each generation of Ling Xiao Sect Zhangmen, only the one who holds the Ling Xiao Sword, can be addressed as Ling Xiao Zhenzun. The spiritual object had a spirit, so naturally it would never remain in the hands of a thief.


    Jin Yujie wasn¡¯t afraid of him£¬but he was actually afraid that if he killed the shidi of Jiang Zheliu the latter might not be too happy about it. He was so angry that he slashed his sword to the ground and said£º¡°Once I¡¯ve found Xianzun, if I found out you¡¯ve done anything to him, I¡¯ll come back for your head!¡±


    The floor was made of black iron mixed with cold stone, which was incomparably hard, but it was still cracked by the Qixing Sword, and the sword penetrated deep and spider web like cracks appeared on the floor.


    Jin Yujie immediately withdrew his sword, turned around and left. The cultivators of the Peerless Sword Pavilion Sect who had come to congratulate and pay their respects to the Immortal all turned and left with him giving off a murderous aura.


    Aside from Peerless Sword Pavilion Sect£¬the other sects were also not particularly happy with the situation£¬but they were not as impetuous as Jin Yujie. Jin Yujie was a hot-blooded youth who had also been helped by Jiang Zheliu so naturally he could not bear to keep his anger to himself.


    Following the departure of Peerless Sword Pavilion Sect£¬all the other sects alsoÒ»Ò»asked for their leave£¬there was only Wang Wenyuan from the Heaven Pavilion Sect who stayed where he was, still fanning himself.


    ¡°Is Pavilion Master not leaving£¿¡±Zhu Wuxin stood up slowly.


    ¡°I want to ask Zhangmen one more time, where has Xianzun gone.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin had been suppressing his anger for too long, and at this moment was in a terrible mood, he sneered: ¡°Where my shixiong has gone, do I really need to report back to every single sect leader? This is Ling Xiao Sect¡¯s business£¬I¡¯d advise you not to get involved. Plus, my shixiong doesn¡¯t want to be disturbed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not for this reason.¡± Wang Wenyuan stopped fanning himself and said£¬¡°This time¡¯s calamity, may not have been entirely resolved.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin stopped in his tracks£¬even his eyes were motionless£º¡°What did you say£¿ But my shixiong definitely did¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Aiii¡ª¡ª¡± Wang Wenyuan stood up to leave£¬and lazily added£¬¡°Perhaps the loss of Jiang Xianzun is actually the real beginning of this so-called calamity.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    This kind of weather was indeed very harmful to the body.


    Jiang Zheliu invited the chill of the snow into his sickly body when he went to clear off the snow from his shifu¡¯s gravestone. He spoke in front of the gravestone for a while, telling him how well the kids he had taken had cultivated, explaining to him what Zhu Wuxin had been upto£¬and the story of how Ling Xiao Sect had become the leader of the Four Main orthodox sects¡­¡­


    He rarely spoke so much£¬when he finally felt too cold, the snow had already fallen another half a chi.


    Jiang Zheliu stood up£¬and turned towards the grass-roofed house that he had had built back when he had buried his shifu¡¯s remains.


    Although it was called a grass-roofed house£¬but it wasn¡¯t actually made of grass£¬but made from a few common materials that could be found in the Cultivation World, but could be considered rare materials for mere mortals, although the house was dusty it could be considered bearable.


    Jiang Zheliu was now completely exhausted£¬he lighted a small fire, and thought he¡¯d sort out the rest tomorrow..


    He sat upon the narrow bed in the house£¬and looked at the light of the flames£¬his eyes were getting blurry. He subconsciously averted his gaze to see a messy pile of grass ¡­¡­ and a small black snake in the grass.


    The little snake was frozen stiff and it looked like it was injured with a dark red gash on it¡¯s body. It didn¡¯t look in a much better state than Jiang Zheliu.


    Jiang Zheliu pondered for a while£¬then reached out to pull the snake towards the fire, warming himself as well with the heat from the fire.


    His cultivation had been destroyed£¬but his foundation was still there£¬although he had lost the ability to resist the heat and the cold, he still had the ability to fast. This was a serious injury but he wouldn¡¯t die, it was a long illness that can be healed, the extended life span that comes with his foundation will not disappear, it just meant that he had no spiritual energy.


    Jiang Zheliu was extremely clear on the state of his own body, it wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to live for another few years.


    Even though it was a few more years only, at least it could count as living for himself.


    Halfway through his thought, tired and a little sleepy, he had probably closed his eyes to rest for a while, when suddenly he heard a rustling in his ears.


    Jiang Zheliu frowned, his eyebrows raising£¬he saw that the fire was still burning bright£¬but to the side of it where he had placed the little snake, sat an injured little demon.


    Jiang Zheliu nodded£¬poking at the fire again£º¡°why do they want to kill you£¿¡±


    He had once taken in some little demons£¬in his sect there were many good demons£¬it could be said that he had a soft spot for little demons. But having left Ling Xiao Sect£¬he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to see them again.


    The little snake demon wiped his tears and said£º¡°My name is Chang Qian¡­¡­I, I¡¯m half-demon.¡±


    Chang Qian¡¯s eyes were red from crying£¬sitting there obediently£º¡°My mother is a demon£¬my father is a devil. The Devil Realm doesn¡¯t permit for the existence of half-demons to keep the royal blood pure£¬my brother has ordered¡­¡­for me to be killed.¡±


    Royal blood£¿ Jiang Zheliu looked over at him with surprise.


    In the Demon Realm which was presided over by the Azure Dragon and the Vermilion Bird£¬after that there were a few other large Demon groups£¬especially the Snake demons who were surnamed Chang was particularly numerous, this was not weird at all. But to be of royal blood in the Devil Realm£¬this was indeed precious.


    Jiang Zheliu said£º¡°Who is your brother£¿¡±


    He did not have a deep knowledge of the Devil Realm£¬because there were not many devils that he could get on with£¬he could only remember that many years ago£¬the lord of the Devil Realm had once brought the sons of the royal clan to Ling Xiao Sect to reach an agreement, after that he had not seen them again.


    Chang Qian said £º¡°My brother¡¯s name is Wen Renxi£¬we share a father. He went against xiao shushu and wants to kill me.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu nodded£¬it was best not to get involved in a family feud£¬ao he calmly warmed his hands for a while£¬then he closed his eyes supporting his head with his hand and said£º¡°if someone who wants to kill you comes, please be quiet and don¡¯t wake me.¡±


    Chang Qian was stupefied for a moment£¬stupidly pointing at himself£¬and then pointing at Jiang Zheliu.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hair fell down£¬pure snow white hair£¬only his fingertips were even white and colder£¬even being next to the fire, the profound coldness eminating from his body was enough to stop people in their tracks. What¡¯s more, there is still a sense of bloody aura on his body that had yet to disperse, and a heavy feeling of sickness and broken bones, as if he would break if touched.


    Chang Qian originally thought that Jiang Zheliu could save him but then he noticed that the other party¡¯s body was also carry heavy injuries, so he made his decision. He didn¡¯t know where he got the courage from£¬he said weakly£º¡°¡­¡­I will definitely run outside£¬I won¡¯t bring you any trouble.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t respond.


    The fire continued to burn, making a crackling sound.


    It was still snowing outside£¬the heavy snow had completely covered the mountain£¬it would be hard for anyone to come up the mountain£¬the calls of wild beasts outside could be heard.


    The moonlight sneaked in through the window, spilling over on to the ground. Chang Qian woke up at dawn in a daze, completely unaware of when he had fallen asleep.


    The Devils had caught up to him£¬Chang Qian¡¯s body immediately stiffened up£¬and his face turned white. When he finally decided he¡¯d try to make a run for it, he discovered that the other exit had also been blocked, two sides were crushing in.


    The devilish energy from the devils destroyed the window frame, causing the wind and snow from outside to extinguish the fire.


    Jiang Zheliu stopped what he was doing£¬took the wine off the extinguished fire£¬looked up at the mighty devilish energy at the door¡£


    ¡°Chang Qian£¬Today I¡¯m going to ¡ª¡ª¡±


    Before he could say you, the leader of this group of demons looked over£¬and the words suddenly stopped£¬completely stupified£¬he fell to the ground.


    He crawled back up from the floor£¬and stuttered£º¡°J-J-J-Jiang¡­¡­Jiang Xianzun£¬I-I-I-I-I¡­¡­I¡¯m a good person£¬no no no£¬I¡¯m a good devil£¬I¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu raised his eyebrow£º¡°You know me?¡±


    ¡°Y-y-y-yes¡­¡­¡± The more this devil got anxious, the more his words got muddled£¬he scowled miserably and said£¬¡°A few hundred years ago£¬I saw you with my master. If I had know you were here£¬I wouldn¡¯t have dared to to come in. If I had known that you¡­¡­you wanted to save him£¬I¡¢I w-w-would never¡­¡­have dared to act rashly.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t know if the news that he had destroyed his cultivation had reached the Devil Realm yet£¬so he just casually replied and he pointed at the doorframe and said£º¡°You¡¯ve broken it.¡±


    That devil was almost in tears£¬he said heroicly£º¡°Jiang Xianzun£¬I did this alone£¬could you let the rest of them go.¡±


    The few young devils behind him also changed from their original form to their human form, from ferocious-looking to young and nervous, one more youthful and unexperienced than the other.


    Jiang Zheliu seeing that he was ready to cry, said lightly£º¡°Fix the door and then you can all leave.¡±


    The leader of these devils was so grateful he almost kowtowed a couple of times to Jiang Zheliu and then he turned and he quickly called over a few of the devils, ordering them to get busy with work.


    Chang Qian who was watching the whole time was utterly confused£¬he looked at Jiang Zheliu who was drinking a couple of sips of the medicinal wine£¬then he went to tidy up the small bed and went to sleep£¬then Chang Qian looked at the devils who were currently fixing the door.


    This made the leader of the group remember something£¬he rubbed his chin and said£º¡°Our lord is a half-step Golden Immortal, Jiang Xianzun is also a half-step Golden Immortal¡­¡­ I heard that our lord has been itching to see Jiang Xianzun for a long time, but Xianzun¡¯s whereabouts were always hard to track¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean Da-ge£¿¡±


    ¡°We should report this back to the Lord.¡± The leader of the group was resolute£¬¡°With the power that our Devil Lord holds£¬even if it was the previous Ling Xiao Sect Master, I reckon that it.¡­¡­it.¡­¡­*hiccup*¡­¡­¡±


    Under the questioning eyes of the devils, the leader gritted his teeth and said£º ¡°It¡¯ll be a draw£¡¡±


    He had seen Xianzun in action before, so he didn¡¯t dare to exaggerate.


    At that time, the Devil Lord was still a junior Lord in the Devil Realm, and had once invited Jiang Xianzun to a duel, but was defeated by just one strike of the sword by the latter.


    And that sword injury was branded on the Devil Lord¡¯s chest£¬it didn¡¯t fully heal for a long time£¬and left a lasting scar.


    The author wants to say:


    Let me guess what the comment section will say today.


    Readers£ºIs the gong coming? is the gong coming? is the gong coming£¿


    Quick come and take care of him£¬he¡¯s so sick it¡¯s making me worried£¬I can¡¯t wait any longer.

 CH 3

    When Jiang Zheliu woke up, he finally saw the newly reconstructed little house.


    Two floors, with hanging screens to keep the wind out, even the furniture was well positioned. The previous fire that he had set up had been extinguished, and swapped out for a bronze devil device, it only needed to be infused with a tiny thread of energy to create raging flames that would keep the winter cold abay.


    Jiang Zheliu looked at this bronze furnace for a while and then looked down at his own pale hands.


    Not even a thread of spiritual energy.


    He looked up to see the black haired and black-eyed Chang Qian who was arranging some goods in the room. He was putting the white plum flowers that had been picked at the back of Zhongnan Mountain into porcelain pots, placing them down next to the desk by the window.


    Chang Qian put down the flowerpot, turned around and met Jiang Zheliu¡¯s gaze, he trembled and said carefully£º¡±Xianzun?¡±


    This was what he had heard from one of the mouths of the other devils.


    Aside from here, Chang Qian had nowhere else to go, plus he had discovered that this immortal could save his life afterall so of course he wasn¡¯t willing to leave, he said impatiently: ¡°In order to repay this Shenxian for saving my life, I am willing to stay here¡­urm¡­ and wait upon Shenxian!¡±


    Jiang Zheliu glanced at him, then knocked on the copper furnace: ¡°Light this.¡±


    Chang Qian went over obediently and instilled a tiny bit of demon energy, as soon as the beastly lid of the bronze lit up, a flame immediately flared up in the inside, chasing away the cold of the winter snow in Zhongnan Mountain.


    Jiang Zheliu still wore a fleece cloak, snow-white and heavy, which enveloped him completely. Inside was an extremely thin-looking immortal robe, lightly coloured, without any superfluous decoration.


    His white hair fell down softly around his shoulders. Reaching out at the moment to be close to the warmth at a little distance, his greenish and white knuckles warmed a little, and reflected like jade in the light of a fire.


    Changqian looked stunned again.


    He stared at the other¡¯s slender eyelashes and stared at his face ¡­¡­ for a while, Chang Qian¡¯s face slowly reddened and suddenly withdrew his gaze, saying dryly, ¡°Xianzun, how long are you, how long are you going to stay here ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Until I die.¡± Jiang Zheliu looked at him ¡°No need to call me Xianzun, I am no longer.¡±


    Changqian failed to understand the words, and he tugged nervously at his sleeve and squirmed: ¡°Then can I, can I call you gege?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t move, turning away from the burning fire, it seemed as if he remember something from the past, and after a few moments, he said: ¡°¡­¡­As you wish.¡±


    Changqian was elated and felt quite secure, so he happily went upstairs to continue tidying up.


    Jiang Zheliu warmed his hands for a while before he got rid of all the coldness in his body. He has not healed from his injuries, and he has no internal energy. Although he looks comfortable on the surface, he¡¯d still feel pain in his body from time to time.


    It¡¯s just that he didn¡¯t care.


    He had a storage device with him, not the one he originally had, but the most crude and ordinary implement that could be used without the need for spiritual energy. Jiang Zheliu used this Qiankun pouch which was disguised as a scented pouch to store some medicinal wines, tea leaves, his horsetail whisk, and some books, he hadn¡¯t taken anything else with him.


    The wind stirred slightly outside the house.


    He warmed another jug of wine, poured it into a cup and took a few slow sips holding the porcelain cup.


    This was a common wine of the Ling Xiao Sect, brewed to maintain a cultivator¡¯s daoist body. Jiang Zheliu normally drank it as if it was just water, but now that his daoist body had been destroyed, he shouldn¡¯t actually be drinking much.


    The medicinal wine was very warm, but by the time the second cup was in his belly, it had already aggravated his severe internal injuries. The pain spread from his lungs to his heart, like pins and needles.


    Jiang Zheliu coughed softly twice; he hadn¡¯t actually expected to be this weak. He could only support himself with one hand on the chair, when he gripped the side of the chair, the whole back of his hand tensed up, his finger bones made a rattling sound, waves and waves of agony making him frown.


    After a gradually tightening cough, his pale, colourless lips were stained with bright red, his shoulders trembled from the coughing.


    The heavy cloak slipped off his shoulders, revealing a thin, snow-white undershirt.


    The wind moved slightly and the sound of footsteps outside the house stopped.


    Jiang Zheliu was in so much pain that he didn¡¯t even notice such light footsteps; his palms were covered in cold sweat, and he gasped for air in small even breaths.


    The person at the window didn¡¯t know whether to go in or not.


    Wen Renye did not expect that he would meet the infamous Ling Xiao Xianjun again in this way.


    In his memory, he only remembers that sword from hundreds of years ago, only that he was standing on top of the Dengyun Platform of the Ling Xiao Sect all in white, with floating clouds behind him, as cold as ice.


    Ling Xiao Sword in his hands, was a peerless sword. As long as Jiang Zheliu was holding that sword the sword was in the hands of its rightful owner.


    Wen Renye stood still.


    He remembered Jiang Zheliu, remembered the glorious, overwhelming sword light that came from all directions and converged into a single sword. He remembered the feverish blood that gushed from the sword light as it cut through his chest, leaving an everlasting scar. What he remembered most clearly was when the other party glanced over at him == he could almost not catch a real glimpse of him through the gleaming reflections of waves in sunlight.


    He was famous from a young age£¬but that was the first time that he had lost under the sword of another.


    The impassioned blood in his body which had made Wen Renye come here to challenge him once more, slowly cooled off.


    That¡¯s Jiang Zheliu.


    Why had he become like this?


    The news of the reparation of the Realm Boundary and the change in leadership at Ling Xiao Sect had not yet reached the Devil Realm.


    In the eyes of the Devil Realm, the Ling Xiao Sect still had that unrivaled and venerable Xianzun watching over it, it was still the Head of the Four Main Immortal Sects, it still had the powerful Jiang Xianzun who had the world in his hands.


    ¡°The only thing is if we¡¯re going to be neighbours, don¡¯t keep disturbing.¡± Jiang Zheliu had never really made tea for himself before and his movements were a bit awkward, ¡°And don¡¯t come knocking on the door, I sleep all day.¡±


    Wen Renye wanted to say something, but when he saw his long, snow-white hair, he suddenly got stuck again, only his eyes grew more and more anxious and full of agitation.


    He was completely unaware of how intensely revealing his eyes were.


    Jiang Zheliu finished making the tea, he lightly blew on the hot tea and then slowly asked: ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ve wronged you in the past?¡±


    He didn¡¯t wait for the other to respond and continued£º¡°The way you¡¯re looking at me, it¡¯s like you want to kill me, or you want to first r*pe me and then kill me.¡±


    Wen Renye: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..First r*pe and then kill?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± said Jiang Zheliu, at the same time he re-adjusted his cloak to cover his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would have wronged a great young devil like you, otherwise, at that time I wouldn¡¯t have left you with your life to stand before me today.¡±


    Wen Renye was still staring at him, he said£º¡°I won¡¯t hurt you. Don¡¯t you remember me?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu slowly drank tea and he reached out with his hand to grab the devil¡¯s hand, the hand that could not differentiate in its degree of intimacy before randomly reaching out to touch him, he returned this hand to him, saying: ¡°Ask around yourself.¡±


    His skin felt unusually cold, and after making contact with Wen Renye¡¯s hand, it became even colder. But this unbelievably brief contact caused Wen Renye¡¯s heart to beat wildly again, like a wild horse that was out of control, jumping in front of Jiang Zheliu and fighting for his favour. His heart was violently beating completely against reason.


    He jerked his hand back as if he had been burned.


    If this wild horse had a place to roam, the meadow would be called ¡°love at first sight¡±.


    The devil felt his head burning up from a fever of his lustful thoughts, in his mind he imagined a little deer that was stomping on his heart, all he wanted to do was dig it out but he was afraid that the smell of blood would scare the other party, so he held back and just said, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was silent for a few breaths, ¡°Didn¡¯t you tease me first?¡±


    ¡°No I didn¡¯t¡­..¡±


    The more he spoke, the closer he came to Jiang Zheliu, and in the end, he was almost only a few inches away from Jiang Zheliu¡¯s face, so close they were almost breathing the same air.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s eyelashes fluttered, he said lightly ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°I will come live with you both.¡± said Wen Renye.


    Jiang Zheliu was feeling slightly uncomfortable due to the waves of devil energy coming towards him from the other party that he furrowed his brows and said, ¡°And what if I don¡¯t agree?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­First I¡¯ll r*pe you then I¡¯ll kill you.¡± The devil looked truly fierce.


    The room was silent for a moment, except for the wisps of wind from outside that gradually grew louder and blew open the door of the small house.


    The strong devilish energy from the other party enveloped him almost completely, wrapping around his entire broken body. Jiang Zheliu looked at him quietly, raised his hand towards the other¡¯s eyebrows and pushed him back, saying: ¡°Close the door, I¡¯m cold.¡±

 CH 4

    The door of the house closed and the cold wind kept out.


    Wen Renye failed to convince Jiang Zheliu this time.


    Under these circumstances, even though he had a calm and serene exterior, it was easy to see at a glance that Wen Renye was still trying to control his violently beating heart, which was preventing him from coming up with any good ideas.


    So Wen Renye really became his neighbour, he built a house in the blink of an eye effortlessly. A small courtyard appeared out of thin air next to the small house. The two houses were only a wall away from each other.


    Daylight waned at sunset, and it gradually became dark again.


    Chang Qian was still in shock about his little uncle and thought for a long time to figure out what was going on. Whilst he tidied up the books for Jiang Zheliu he muttered to him£º¡°Who¡¯s chasing him¡­¡­how does he not have anyone to turn to¡­¡­¡±


    Even Chang Qian felt that this little uncle, who had always ignored him, had ill intentions. Although he and Wen Renye were distantly related, the latter never really treated him as family, the latter was a genuine master of the royal bloodline, and the newly appointed Devil Lord, why would he associate himself with a half-breed.


    To the contrary, he had only known Jiang Zheliu for a day and a night but the latter had already saved his life and had not seemed to care about his family background. When Chang Qian thought about it, he couldn¡¯t help but think in favour of Jiang Zheliu, thinking that even if his Shenxian gege was powerful, he still looked wounded now, so how could he let such a powerful Devil stay by his side.


    He finished putting away the books and then turned around to see the back of Jiang Zheliu.


    Jiang Zheliu was sitting in a rattan chair, his outer cloak was taken off and draped over his legs, he was reading a book under candle light.


    He had removed his hair ornament and his long, snow-white hair was wavering, swaying slightly at the side of his shoulders, revealing a calm and tame air. He seemed to be reading with much seriousness, his gaze didn¡¯t move as if he¡¯d gone into the book.


    Chang Qian swallowed and slowly moved over to him, whispering, ¡°gege?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­en?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu hesitated for a moment before raising his eyes to look at him.


    ¡°You, you don¡¯t believe my little uncle right.¡± Chang Qian was still a 12 to 13 year old child, more precisely between a child and an adolescent, ¡°My little uncle isn¡¯t some lowly devil who has nowhere to go, his name is Wen Renye!¡±


    Jiang Zheliu replied with an ¡°en¡± and calmly said£º¡°So, who is he then?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s already what¡± Wen Renye looked over from his door, his purple eyes darkened slightly ¡°what are you talking about.¡±


    Chang Qian was instantly frightened out of his wits and hid behind Jiang Zheliu with a whoosh, then scampered up the stairs like a culprit who had a guilty conscience.


    Jiang Zheliu followed the voice and saw that the other party was dressed in a black robe, with a blood-red overcoat which was covered with frost and snow. With one shake, the snowflakes on the outer coat melted in a flash.


    As he walked, Wen Renye untied his cloak, he then placed the cloak on the back of the chair, and sat down next to Jiang Zheliu.


    ¡°Why have you come again, good neighbour?¡± Jiang Zheliu replied without much thought, whilst picking up the book from under the candle light, continuing to read with the outer cloak on his lap.


    ¡°Obviously it¡¯s to help you.¡± Wen Renye said£¬¡°You look so pitiful, like a stray dog that has been kicked out of Ling Xiao Sect.¡±


    He really doesn¡¯t know how to speak.


    Jiang Zheliu glanced at him£º¡°You have a home so there¡¯s no need to stay here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only here for you.¡± Wen Renye said ¡°I want to cure you.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu stopped flicking through the pages of his book for a moment, lightly knitting his brows, after a long while he said: ¡°I can¡¯t be cured. And I¡¯m actually doing quite well now. Your pity is not needed here.¡±


    Wen Renye reached out his hand, he stopped about an inch before making contact with him, just stopping there in mid-air, he retracted his hand and said: ¡°Head of an Immortal Sect£¬Half-step Golden Immortal. You have already reached the peak but lost it all for the others. Was it worth it?¡±


    It looked as if Wen Renye had sent someone into the Cultivation World to find out what had happened, the situation with Jiang Zheliu would not stay quiet and in a few days it would spread like wildfire.


    Jiang Zheliu continued to read, his vision guided by his finger on the page, he didn¡¯t say a word.


    Wen Renye took out a hand warmer from his storage ring, it was another devil device except that this device was rare and precious and it didn¡¯t need any spiritual energy to activate so even mortals could also use it.


    He put the hand warmer which had a terrible beast engraved on it into Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hands and continued to speak: ¡°Those people that you saved, most of them are just selfish, and vulgar lowly people, they don¡¯t care about your sacrifice, they only want to reap the benefits¡­¡­ just like your shidi.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin was actually quite well-known, he was a genius immortal cultivator, but unfortunately he had always been overshadowed by Jiang Zheliu so he had also been number two. Whether it was cultivation, appearance, personality, sword technique, or even the appreciation from Elders, he was always one step behind.


    Back then, when Zhu Wenyuan fell into the devil realm¡¯s trap and was in imminent peril, he had called over Jiang Zheliu and Zhu Wuxin to his bedside, and in front of all the Elders, he entrusted the Sect Leader position to Jiang Zheliu and not his own son. After that day, Zhu Wuxin¡¯s personality began to gradually change but Jiang Zheliu always continued to dote on him, always treating him as if it was his own younger brother that hadn¡¯t changed in a thousand years.


    Jiang Zheliu frowned slightly but still didn¡¯t speak.


    Wen Renye, having set the temperature of the Devil device, pushed it towards the hands of the other, coming into contact with the piercing ice-cold hands of the other party.


    ¡°Do you know how long the Ling Xiao Sect, and even the entire Cultivation World, has been in peace under your protection?¡± Wen Renye looked at him and said, ¡°Devils are born cruel and love to battle, why would they agree to a peace treaty year and year, and not have the slightest mind to invade. The two Zhenjun¡¯s of the Demon Realm, why do they have such a good relationship with you, all the matters in the two Realms have been entrusted to you£¬but no one has said anything about it, not to mention the perennial silence of the Netherworld¡­¡­¡±


    He paused a little and then casually added: ¡°Jiang Zheliu, as long as you are alive, there will be other methods. But those people aren¡¯t worth you doing this to yourself.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu clenched his fist, the cosy warmth from the devil¡¯s device had attracted him£¬slowly adjusting it, he moved his gaze from his book and he looked at the other and said calmly: ¡°Now I¡¯m a useless person, you should be happy and not be asking me whether it¡¯s worth it or not. As far as I see it, with a broken body I can now shed a heavy burden and free myself from an endless Sea of Bitterness1.It¡¯s a blessing from heaven, I should rejoice.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like devils because you all think too much.¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°I no longer want to be the support for every living thing, I don¡¯t want to bear it any longer, is that so wrong.¡±


    On the one hand, the other party was trying to probe his body¡¯s condition, on the other hand, he asked£º¡°Well what do you like?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu£º¡°¡­¡­I like you.¡±


    The thread of devil energy that was travelling through his body almost violently erupted£¬dangerously so. The cold-hearted Devil Lord¡¯s mind went blank, his ears were randomly buzzing. He stared foolishly at Jiang Zheliu and after a long while he finally said: ¡°Like me¡­¡­¡±


    He still hadn¡¯t had a chance to make his move, to foster some affection, to pry him away from the Cultivation World, how come¡­¡­


    ¡°Like you to speak less.¡± Jiang Zheliu said lightly.


    In his head, Wen Renye was still thinking what to name their 18th child, when he heard those words, all these beautiful thoughts vanished into thin air and all that remained was a shattered dream on the floor.


    The devil energy he had sent into Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body had long halted, he put his emotions back into check and continued to explore. The more Wen Renye understood his body¡¯s condition, the more dejected he felt. Jiang Zheliu¡¯s meridians were a mess. His whole body was full of wounds, his Nascent Soul2 was almost unrecognisable and his Primordial spirit3 ¡­¡­ even if he didn¡¯t examine it, it was obvious the state it was in.


    There was deep wound inside his chest cavity, it was really hard to believe that this was the state that he was in¡ª¡ª Wen Renye had always thought the same as Zhu Wuxin, that Jiang Zheliu was peerless and unbeatable, unrivaled, and that there was nothing that he couldn¡¯t do and the admiration of millions was no different from the dust of the world to him.


    All his drive had been focused on this, wanting to compete with him, to be alongside him, even to surpass him. But now¡­¡­


    Wen Renye slowly moved his hand away, looking at the other party¡¯s frosty wrist and fingertips, he said quietly: ¡°¡­¡­it¡¯s already like this, you¡¯re still able to bear it.¡±


    He stopped talking, he didn¡¯t get a response so he looked up at Jiang Zheliu.


    The half open book in his hands hadn¡¯t moved. He had changed positions on the rattan chair to lie down with his eyes closed, his white hair scattering over his shoulders, his eyelashes were long and delicate.

 CH 5

    Demon Realm.


    In the centre of the Demon Realm stood Wan Ling Palace1, which was the residence of the two Zhenjun¡¯s. The Wan Ling Palace was built amongst giant trees with the tree¡¯s vines twisting and winding around it, giving it a natural charm of nature.


    At this moment, the little demons in the Wan Ling Palace were keeping their heads down and keeping quiet out of fear.


    ¡°Can we even trust him? It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know about Zhu Wuxin¡¯s arrogance?!¡±


    The man with scarlet hair, wearing red robes slapped the table in a fury, and the wooden table under his violent palm trembled incessantly, buckling from the pressure, and in the next moment it was in pieces and reduced to dust.


    The man looked about 25-26 years old. He had a scarlet mark of the Vermilion Bird Phoenix between the peaks of his eyebrows. In addition to his scarlet hair and red eyes, his robes were also an eye-catching fiery red color. The shoulders of the robes had phoenix feathers, the sleeves had golden threaded patterns, the whole robe was incomparably dazzling to look at.


    ¡°Those righteous Immortal Sects are all useless, they can¡¯t even find him after so many days. If anything has happened to him, I¡¯ll lay waste to the Cultivation World and kill Zhu Wuxin!¡±


    Lie Zhen became more and more irritable. He suddenly got up, pacing back and forth around the Wan Ling Palace. The more he cursed, the angrier he became, until finally he drew his Lie Yan Sword which was hanging from his waist and turned to leave.


    ¡°Come back here.¡±


    The voice came from a woman clothed in dark green robes slowly sipped her tea, she glanced over at him and said, ¡°If you go and behead Zhu Wuxin now, when Zheliu comes back, you will be the first one that he¡¯ll look for.¡±


    What she said was like an ice bucket poured over the top of Vermilion Bird Zhenjun¡¯s head. Lie Zhen continued to pace back and forth, his brows locked in a frown, then he suddenly slashed the floor of the inner hall of the Wan Ling Palace with his sword and gritted his teeth, ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill anyone, I¡¯m going to find him.¡±


    ¡°There are so many people in the Cultivation World and they haven¡¯t been able to find Zheliu yet, do you think just because you go you¡¯ll be able to find him?¡± Qinglin had another sip of her tea, ¡°Do you know where he would go?¡±


    Lie Zhen gripped the sword in his hand, his heart was burning hotter than any fire, even the phoenix feathers on his shoulders were fluttering outwards with sparks, just flickering brightly in mid-air.


    ¡°Then where do you think he will go?¡± Lie Zhen frowned, ¡°Where else could he go¡­¡­ after he left the Ling Xiao Sect? With his ailing body, won¡¯t he suffer wherever he goes?¡±


    Qinglin¡¯s long hair was tied up with a dragon-shaped jade hairpin; she had stunning facial features. She said calmly, ¡°I think you should worry instead about his safety, with his beauty, it would be dangerous to go anywhere.¡±


    Before, when Jiang Zheliu¡¯s cultivation was at its strongest even if the two of them worked together, they could only win by a little bit, but there was no chance of winning alone. His overbearing strength often shielded his beautiful appearance. When Jiang Zheliu was at his peak, everyone only ever dared to speak about his strength, but not about his beauty. So much so that Lie Zhen had forgotten about it.


    Although the Heavenly Spirit Physique was rare, it was not some strange physique that allowed people to have an innate strange gift. It seemed to only appear on the bodies of men. What was special about this physique was its ability to attract all surrounding creatures and it was easy to cultivate affinity with these creatures. This was the reason why, although Jiang Zheliu was cold as ice in nature, he was extremely fond of the little demons and this was also why there were many little demons who unconsciously wanted to get close to him. But this physique also hinders cultivation, it makes spiritual energy that enters this body too lively and difficult to control. In order to control it, the person who has this physique must work several times harder than ordinary people.


    Everyone said he was a genius, but very few realised that this comment was actually debasing everything that he had been through.


    ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing, under normal circumstances, at least those mountain spirits and little demons will not harm him.¡± Qinglin thought for a while, then said, ¡°It¡¯s just that all the written accounts regarding this physique warn of an inability to love in the future, for some reason.¡±


    Lie Zhen grunted and said, ¡°Those accounts are all bullsh*t.¡±


    Qinglin knew Lie Zhen well and naturally knew that he was secretly thinking of something unspeakable, so she said, ¡°In any case, it is very likely that Zheliu is really in Zhongnan Mountain right now. Shouldn¡¯t you leave now or do you want to wait for some other little demon to find him.¡±


    Her words had only just finished, when the irascible and impulsive Vermilion Bird had already transformed into his original form and flew out of the Wan Ling Palace, illuminating half of the Demon Realm¡¯s sky in bright red, a truly splendid sight.


    Qinglin flipped through the book, until she found the passage in the accounts book that she was talking about previously, she pondered over it for a long time.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Zhongnan Mountain.


    The small pinewood house and the bamboo garden on the other side, even though they were separated by a wall, it still seemed like they were part of the same house.


    He didn¡¯t know what Wen Renye was thinking, he was like a squirrel hoarding goods. Wen Renye had filled up the little house to the brim, having brought all the things that were useful and useless into the house. Giving Jiang Zheliu the impression that he was trying to build a nest.


    It was still the middle of winter, so it was another snowy day.


    The cloak Jiang Zheliu had on was the one that had been swapped by Wen Renye the other night. Jiang Zheliu quite liked being enveloped by a dark cloak produced by the Demon Realm with the soft fur around the neck which was very soft. The only problem was that it smelt like Wen Renye. His scent was like that of pine and cypress2. After a while of inhaling this odour, he would lose the ability to distinguish smells so even when Wen Renye was very close to him, he didn¡¯t notice for a while.


    It had been continuously snowing outside and Chang Qian had reverted back to his small snake form nestling at the feet of Jiang Zheliu.


    Perhaps because of the drop in temperature, the little black snake was still lying on his feet at first, then suddenly he slithered up Jiang Zheliu¡¯s clothes, lightly curling his tail around his arm.


    Jiang Zheliu was half-way through his book when he saw the cold little snake arrive. He glanced over, Chang Qian¡¯s was seemingly well-behaved. He hesitated for a while but didn¡¯t brush him off.


    He had always been very fond of animal spirits. The closer the species was to nature, the easier it was for the animal to sense the affinity with them in his body. For example, when he met the two Zhenjuns of the Demon Realm, the Azure Dragon Zhenjun had said to him with much sincerity: ¡°The first time I saw you, I was almost completely head over heels for you.¡±


    It was also at this time that he knew that the scent on his body was extremely alluring for the demon race, just like catnip was for a cat, and every little demon wanted to come up to him to take in his scent.


    He got used to being like catnip, so naturally he didn¡¯t think much about Chang Qian coming over, so he continued to read. However, after only reading another two lines in his book, the sky above Zhongnan Mountain suddenly turned from a black and gloomy to red, dying the sky a dark bloody red.


    The dark red gradually faded and turned into rusty red. Then, a bright blood-red flame-filled Vermillion Bird rushed in from the sky, slammed into the door smashing it to pieces, standing before him in the blink of an eye.


    Jiang Zheliu looked up and saw Lie Zhen¡¯s red eyes looking straight at him. His emotions were complex and strong. Seeing that Jiang Zheliu wasn¡¯t missing any limbs, he let out a sigh of relief.


    Jiang Zheliu only had time to throw aside the little black snake from his arms, before he was quickly embraced by the Vermilion Bird that had flown over from the Demon Realm. His strong heartbeat throbbed violently through his robes, the vibrations causing the other¡¯s temperature to rise.


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t listen to the rest of what he was saying, instead he was silent for a while, before finally saying: ¡°¡­My door.¡±


    ¡­¡­is broken again.


    He didn¡¯t know how to say it, to tacitly prompt the other to fix his door.


    During the short moment he was thinking about this, another person appeared beside the broken wooden door of the small house.


    Lie Zhen, who had been talking a lot, suddenly stopped. He felt a sharp killing intent, so he slowly stood up straight, and turned to look towards the door.


    A purpled-eyed devil dressed in black was stepping closer. He seemed to be flicking his wrist casually. Under his human skin, the bones of his fingers were protruding out, out of the bones were pitch-black sharp nails. His entire body was brimming over and exuding hostility and killing intent, but this all disappeared when he approached Jiang Zheliu, as if nothing had happened at all.


    Devils will be devils. Devils will always be sinister and terrifying.


    Lie Zhen turned around and stood in front of Jiang Zheliu. The flames in his red eyes ignited, like a burst of boiling magma in his pupils. He bit his lips, his tone was full of hostility: ¡°Why are you here??¡±


    He had also only recently learned that Wen Renye successfully broke through the next stage, to become a half-step Golden Immortal, and took charge of the Devil Realm. If this was before, he could still fight Wen Renye, but now, he was not sure he could take him.


    Moreover, normally, the Devil Realm was the last to receive any kind of news. So why was he here?


    There is nothing else in Zhongnan Mountain, the only thing worth seeking here was his good friend¡¯s peerless good looks.


    Liezhen found out the answer almost instantaneously. He blocked in front of Jiang Zheliu and in his heart, he automatically categorised Wen Renye as a love rival. He lowered his hand to hold the Lie Yan Sword at his waist.


    Before he could draw his sword, he heard Jiang Zheliu¡¯s voice behind him.


    ¡°Lie Zhen? It¡¯s a bit hot.¡±


    Lie Zhen¡¯s body temperature changes with his emotions. At this moment, he is extremely nervous and emotional, so the temperature had become almost intolerable for mortals. In the past, Jiang Zheliu was unaffected by the heat and the cold, so naturally he could not feel how high the temperature was on his body, but now the temperature has exceeded the limit that he was able to tolerate.


    The tone of these words was not heavy, but they disrupted all of Lie Zhen¡¯s thinking, he loosened up his mind.


    The temperature dropped sharply, and then, the devil stretched out his hand to press down on his shoulder and pushed him aside, almost crushing the Vermilion Bird¡¯s bones, there was a crisp cracking sound.


    Wen Renye went to sit beside Jiang Zheliu as if nothing had happened, as if he was not the person who had almost crushed the bird just now, and said to Jiang Zheliu: ¡°I¡¯ll clean out the hot spring behind Zhongnan Mountain.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for your trouble, good neighbour.¡± Jiang Zheliu used his usual greeting, and then glanced at Lie Zhen next to him, ¡°Do you know each other?¡±


    Wen Renye didn¡¯t even look over, licked his lips, and exuded a sense of ruthless and dangerous killing intent from all over his body: ¡°We¡¯ve met before.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu nodded, and said to Lie Zhen: ¡°I¡¯m fine here, I don¡¯t need to go back, and I don¡¯t need to hassle you and go to the Demon Realm either.¡±


    A cluster of scarlet feathers behind Lie Zhen¡¯s ears trembled, he frowned and looked at Jiang Zheliu, and said nonchalantly, ¡°How is this fine? This neighbour of yours is up to no good, aren¡¯t you afraid he¡¯s going to eat you up?!¡±


    Jiang Zheliu hadn¡¯t had the chance to answer, when Wen Renye sneered from the side, with a chilling tone: ¡°Vermilion Bird Zhenjun, before talking about others, you should take note of your own breed.¡±


    Lie Zhen was greatly affected by his words, sparks began to ignite once more from the feathers on his shoulders, and he slammed the table. He glared at Wen Renye as if he was looking at another toad3 that hadn¡¯t looked in the mirror.


    Just as the atmosphere was becoming more tense, a few very light coughs were heard from the side.


    The coughs were very weak, it almost sounded like a light cough that had not been purposefully suppressed, but still pulled the two men¡¯s minds back in an instant, as if they had been soaked in ice water, and they were both now fully awake.


    Jiang Zheliu had just been injured by Lie Zhen¡¯s scorching body temperature. He thought he could endure it, but he couldn¡¯t help exhibiting his injury. He wiped off the fresh red blood from the corners of his lips, his internal organs were inflamed and painful.


    But he just frowned and didn¡¯t react much to the pain. Seeing that the two had stopped arguing, he motioned to the destroyed door and said, ¡°Xiao Zhuque, you broke my door.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a door? I¡¯ll give you Wan Ling Palace of the Demon Realm¡­¡±


    ¡°Fix my door.¡±


    ¡°Wait 15 minutes, I¡¯ll fix it right away.¡±

 CH 6

    The time it took Lie Zhen to fix the door was indeed fast and really did only take 15 minutes. The original door frame of the small pinewood house was replaced with the demon world¡¯s Wan Ling stone, which came with the personal style of Vermilion Bird Zhenjun. So it was dazzling and flashy to the eye and you could tell immediately that it was expensive.


    Chang Qian who had been thrown on the floor earlier also changed back into his human form. First, he looked for a moment at the red-haired, phoenix-feathered Demon Zhenjun, and then he turned to look at black-robed, crimson-cloaked Devil Lord, his little uncle. Finally, he nervously glanced over at his Shenxian gege who was currently keeping his head down and drinking his medicine. Chang Qian had a feeling he was in the middle of some fantastical vortex.


    The youth squatted next to the furnace and poured out the remaining medicine. Then he took the bowl and put it into Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hands.


    This was a very common medicine, it was actually so common that it looked like the kind of crude remedy that only mere mortals would drink. But with the current state of his body, Jiang Zheliu could only use this kind of crude medicine. His body was unable to support any sort of spiritual potion for immortals, because he had completely damaged his Daoist body. It now resembled a sieve with holes everywhere and his spiritual energy had been spilling out everywhere, not even a trace of could be retained.


    Wen Renye had asked for the prescription. He found out that the prescription was written by Jiang Zheliu himself and he also understood the severity of his injuries so he did not change the medicine without permission.


    This medicine actually wasn¡¯t particularly useful, and was only for pain relief.


    Jiang Zheliu was so used to the bitter taste that even after drinking the whole bowl of medicine, he did not feel the overbearing bitter taste from it. Following the medicine, he took a sip of tea, looked across at Lie Zhen, who was still sulking about some unknown thing, he slowly opened his mouth to speak, ¡°When did the Demon Realm find out?¡±


    Vermilion Bird Zhenjun suppressed his internal fire and glanced over at him. As soon as he saw his snowy white lacklustre hair and his dark and dull eyes, all the irritation in his heart seemed to sink into an ice cave, not even a single spark could ignite.


    ¡°¡­¡­I only found out today.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not fast.¡± Jiang Zheliu said lightly, ¡°I guess you were able to find me thanks to the Azure Dragon. I¡¯ve only been retired for two days, it was hard for me to wait until I had a full head of white hair but you¡¯ve already come to disturb it.¡±


    Lie Zhen had many things to say in his mind but was unable to speak out. He dragged his seat forward sullenly, and reached out to grab his wrist, probing his meridians, while saying: ¡°You just want to piss me off. If you live in seclusion, then live in seclusion, but why do you have to be with this devil¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, are you able to kick him out?¡± Jiang Zheliu suggested it casually.


    Wen Renye, who was listening quietly on the sidelines, exhibited a rare polite smile: ¡°Come on.¡±


    Lie Zhen¡¯s red hair began to spark out with flames. He glared at Wen Renye viciously, then turned his head and said to Jiang Zheliu: ¡°Wait till I come back with Qinglin, we will definitely be able to save you.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him for a while, and said, ¡°If you and Qinglin work together, you could have also mend the Realm Boundary. Mending nature¡¯s spirit would be easier than saving me.¡±


    Lie Zhen stopped in his tracks.


    ¡°When the Realm Boundary was damaged, the first thing it did was extract the spiritual energy of the cultivation world. The Demon Realm wanted to wait until the Cultivation World decayed and everything was destroyed, before then attacking in one fell swoop, and finally proceeding with the reparation. Or¡­ you both were waiting for me.¡±


    There was silence all around, even the sound of their breathing was quiet.


    ¡°My injury, it is as you would have expected. As far as the Demon Realm is concerned, it has a hundred benefits and no harm done. Jiang Zheliu dusted off his sleeves and pulled his wrist back from Lie Zhen¡¯s fingers. ¡°The Cultivation World is connected to the Mortal Realm, and that includes trillions of creatures.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu watched as he stood before him.


    ¡°Is it the medicine that is bitter?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Lie Zhen didn¡¯t leave immediately but instead turned back into his bird form and perched himself up on an old pine tree outside the small house.


    Inside the house, a lamp was lit. The flame was bright.


    Chang Qian was sorting out the medicine that he had picked from Zhongnan Mountain, whilst secretly looking over at his Shenxian gege who was reading a book, hesitating for a while, he finally said: ¡°Gege?¡±


    ¡°En?¡±


    He was tired from reading, he felt quite sleepy, just as he was dozing off, the candle flame on the side brightened and the smell of pine and cypress invaded the whole place.


    Jiang Zheliu looked up, seeing his good neighbour naturally pulling up a chair opposite him.


    His eyes looked like he hadn¡¯t eaten in a lifetime, they were filled with an intense¡­..appetite£¿


    Jiang Zheliu was unsure, looked down at himself, trying to remember anything about the recipes of the Demon Realm, he asked: ¡°Hungry?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­No.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu rolled up the book in his hands and hit Wen Renye¡¯s hand with it and said: ¡°Well I just can¡¯t understand, what are you doing here, what exactly do you want?¡±


    He paused for a moment, then continued: ¡°I don¡¯t have any spiritual energy, you¡¯ve already examined that for yourself. I have no assets, I¡¯m penniless, even spiritual devices are useless to me£¬you canÒ»Ò»also see this. Unless my might is really that great that you don¡¯t want to let down your guard and you must kill me?¡±


    Wen Renye exhibited absolutely no killing intent towards him, this, he could tell.


    After he said this Jiang Zheliu thought of another possibility, and then looked at him for a while before muttering to himself: ¡°Even if you want to eat me, it could be done in one meal.¡±


    He was barely able to keep on living, two casual flicks of the hand from Wen Renye and he¡¯d already be in pieces so Wen Renye probably didn¡¯t want to kill him.


    He had disciplined many juniors over the years, the most competitive of whom was the Young Pavilion Master of the Peerless Sword Pavilion Sect, Jin Yujie, but even Yujie was not as nostalgic about his former defeat as Wen Renye was.


    Jiang Zheliu nodded and smiled slightly: ¡°But I don¡¯t want to recover.¡±


    The fire in Wen Renye¡¯s heart snuffed out immediately, the residual heat rolled up against his throat and burned off the words he had been preparing.


    ¡°To be able to choose between life and death, in this lifetime, that is the only freedom that I have left.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu cut him off and continued to say£º¡°But for you, my interesting neighbour, I¡¯ll try not to depart too soon.¡±


    Wen Renye¡¯s heart was hanging by his throat, and he didn¡¯t know whether to let out the breathe that he had been unconsciously holding in. He held Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand, moving in very close to him, he slowly said.


    ¡°To watch over me?¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Jiang Zheliu said: ¡°To see the future of the Devil Realm.¡±


    Perhaps, it would also be the future of the World.

 CH 7

    The next day, in the early morning, Chang Qian really did ask the little deer to come.


    Jiang Zheliu had just washed up, he hadn¡¯t even tied up his hair yet. He was thinking about what he could grow once Zhongnan Mountain¡¯s winter was over¡­¡­He was mid-thought, when he heard the patter of the little deer¡¯s hooves.


    After that, there was a knock on the door. Chang Qian opened the door and let in the youth with the two horns on his head. He looked a bit older than Chang Qian, about 14-15 years old in appearance, with bright and round eyes and seemed quick-witted.


    He had only just entered when his gaze fell upon Jiang Zheliu, he went up to him to take a better look, and then blinked a few times, before saying: ¡°Shenxian gege!¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked at this loveable little deer and listened to Chang Qian¡¯s cheerful introduction: ¡°This is my gege, he¡¯s an immortal living in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain¡­¡­this is Ah-Chu.¡±


    Ah-Chu stood in front of Jiang Zheliu. The pair of horns on his head were almost translucent. At the top of the horns there was a small area that had faint blood red veins as if they were not fully grown and if touched would be very painful. His legs had not completely transformed yet, so he still had a pair of deer hooves.


    ¡°Shenxian gege.¡± Ah-Chu¡¯s eyes shone brightly as he approached, he seemed to be a bit more courageous than Chang Qian. ¡°You are really good-looking, you¡¯re even better looking than I imagined.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu watched him attentively for a while. Looking at the unmistakable look of sincerity on Chu¡¯s face, he was silent for a few breaths and then said: ¡°Do you want to cultivate in Zhongnan Mountain?¡±


    Ah-Chu nodded very seriously and said: ¡°I will serve gege well.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said: ¡°I don¡¯t have any more spiritual energy. I¡¯m weak and ill, I¡¯m no longer the Immortal Sect Leader I was before. You probably won¡¯t be able to learn anything from me.¡±


    ¡°As long as Shenxian gege can occasionally give me some guidance in my cultivation, it¡¯s enough!¡± The little deer blinked. He moved closer as if unintentionally, his slender eyelashes were on full display in front of Jiang Zheliu, and his breath spread slowly in the air. His face exhibiting an obedient look.


    He seemed to be well-behaved, as if he would serve well. His manners could easily convince the youthful Chang Qian, this little naive snake demon. But Jiang Zheliu wasn¡¯t completely convinced.


    But Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t care either, just as he could tolerate Wen Renye being his neighbour. His attitude towards many things was ¡°okay¡±, ¡°why not¡±, and ¡°all is fine¡±, which was enough to also tolerate this deer demon that seemed to have an ulterior motive but overall seemed harmless.


    Jiang Zheliu nodded, he was just about to continue chatting but when he looked up, he saw Wen Renye coming in through the door.


    This devil looked the same as usual, wearing a black robe with crimson coloured threading pattern on the lining, purple eyes and he was still brimming with unusual emotion.


    The smell of pine and cypress entered the air, carrying with it the stench of battle and death.


    Jiang Zheliu stretched out his hand to give his ear a rub, pointed at Wen Renye beside him, and said calmly to Ah-Chu: ¡°Girls must be careful when they go out. Those dressed in black are usually bad guys.¡±


    This is just a joke, but compared to demons, he had never liked people from the Devil Realm, this was a widely known fact.


    Wen Renye played along: ¡°Yes, a bad guy.¡±


    Wen Renye frowned: ¡°¡­ why would you do that?¡±


    ¡°Naturally it¡¯s for reading.¡± Jiang Zheliu looked at him strangely, as if he was explaining something that was painfully obvious. ¡°The covers of these folk stories are very straightforward and obvious. If I read these at Ling Xiao Sect and the disciples saw it, wouldn¡¯t it make young disciples curious, and delay their cultivation practice?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said it was too calmly as if he thought that it was completely ordinary, it seemed that he didn¡¯t think what he had done was completely out of the ordinary.


    Wen Renye was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say, and then he heard Jiang Zheliu say quietly: ¡°This afternoon, I¡¯m going to the Hot Springs to bathe. Could my good neighbour look after Ah-Chu and Chang Qian.¡±


    Wen Renye gazed at his thin frame and said coldly, ¡°This good neighbour thinks that it¡¯s more important to look after you, you look like you¡¯d fall over with one push.¡±


    One push and he¡¯d fall?


    Jiang Zheliu looked down and glanced over himself, and said casually: ¡°If I fall, I just won¡¯t get up again, and I¡¯ll exhort ten million spiritual jade stones from your Devil Realm.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    There were several hot springs behind Zhongnan Mountain, which are almost never used because there are few residents in the mountains. But Wen Renye had cleaned out this place for him.


    Jiang Zheliu took off his robe, leaving only a thin undershirt on his body. He dipped himself into the water to explore his own body.


    Although he no longer had any spiritual energy, he had still reached a certain point in his cultivation so he was still able to examine himself internally. At this moment, he looked inside his body, the more he looked, the more he felt that his meridians were damaged to an incredible extent. It could be said that the state of his meridians were a tragic sight without the least bit of rhythm.


    When he repaired the Realm Boundary, he encountered a huge impact. He went to repair it alone. His disciples from the Ling Xiao Sect should have arranged for assistance, but Zhu Wuxin was afraid the news would leak and they might be attacked by evil doers, so in the end, he went alone.


    Jiang Zheliu was getting dizzy from the heat of the hot springs, he closed his eyes and reminisced on the past.


    He had given Zhu Wuxin an opportunity, but it was also his shidi¡¯s choice. Zhu Wuxin didn¡¯t try his best to help him, causing his hair to turn white in an instant, to sustain serious injuries, but Jiang Zheliu accepted this readily.


    He opened his eyes slightly and with the faint light he looked at the back of his hand, gazing intently at the calluses between his thin fingers made from wielding his sword. These calluses were made from the constant friction of gripping of the sword from training his cultivation, bleeding and then training again until these hands became pale and colourless.


    He suddenly remembered the time when Zhu Wuxin was young, when he had just been accepted as a disciple. He was an orphan who had been taken in but he cultivated the hardest. Taking away the limelight from the others, he was always ridiculed by the other disciples, saying that he was a ¡°b*stard with no mother nor father¡±. Zhu Wuxin was only four years old at the time, and was not very tall at the time, but he rushed out, like a fierce cat, standing in front of him to protect him.


    He remembered Wuxin raising his little hand and cupping his cheeks and saying earnestly, ¡°Zheliu gege don¡¯t be afraid of them, Wuxin will protect you.¡± The voice was so babyish that he still wasn¡¯t able to properly enunciate his words.


    Later, it was Jiang Zheliu who protected him for half of his life, until Zhu Wuxin personally chose to abandon him when he no longer needed him.


    From the day that Zhu Wenyuan passed away, Zhu Wuxin only ever referred to him as ¡°shixiong¡±, and not ¡°gege¡±.

 CH 8

    The medicinal pill infiltrated the warm spring water, completely dissolving.


    Jiang Zheliu could guess what he had done but as he did not feel the effects of the medicinal pill yet, he asked: ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°I found it in the Devil Realm,¡± Wen Renye said ¡°It¡¯s the Immortal Jade Cultivation Pill.¡±


    This name was well known in the Cultivation World. It was a rare potent immortal medicine of the Devil Realm but it was not the same as the other pills. The Immortal Jade Cultivation Pill was mild and it was slow to react. It was necessary to use it over time, slowly warming up the body. So those who had weak bodies, could not take it directly but it could be used for bathing and soaking.


    But compared with other immortal medicines, although it needed to be used slowly and over a long period of time, there were no side effects to using this pill. The pill was incredibly rare and precious, it seemed only the master of the Devil Realm could access it.


    This was just what was spread around the Cultivation World, but it was not known if it was true or false. But Jiang Zheliu still pondered over it for a moment and then asked: ¡°Is your father aware that you took this to heal me?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was not particularly aware of the passing of time. In his eyes, he still saw Wen Renye as his junior, as part of the younger generation. Plus, the news that the Devil Realm had changed rulers had only got out when he was mending the Realm Boundary. So for him, this person was still just a Junior Lord of the Devil Realm.


    Wen Renye wasn¡¯t aware of what he was thinking, so he replied: ¡°And what of it?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said: ¡°Wen Renjian would rather see me dead, he wouldn¡¯t be so kind-hearted as to help treat my illness. But you¡­¡­you¡¯re still young, letting your emotions affect your decisions.¡±


    Men don¡¯t like to be called out on their youth.


    Just as Wen Renye knitted his brows wanting to retort, Jiang Zheliu lightly coughed a few times. He immediately forgot what he wanted to say, his eyes focused on him completely without blinking.


    The water temperature was gradually heating up. The pill was taking effect, cleansing his broken body and he could feel a slight pricking sensation.


    At first, Jiang Zheliu only coughed very lightly a few times but then the pain in his chest worsened. The clotted blood that had been drawn out by the spring water and the pill started to rise up, gradually bubbling up, tightening his chest. He frowned, choking and coughing a little louder, his thin, pale lips stained with blood.


    The ends of his hair were wet, falling into the hot springs, slowly swirling around in the water. His eyelashes were snow-white, they seemed almost translucent in the daylight. His entire body was pale, the only colour on him were his pitch-black eyes and the bright red on the lips.


    Wen Renye¡¯s heart skipped a beat and he immediately reached out to hold his arm, asking anxiously, ¡°Can you not endure it? Let me help take you out.¡±


    Before he could finish, his hand was pressed down and he heard Jiang Zheliu say.


    ¡°¡­¡­No need.¡±


    Wen Renye¡¯s immediately stopped in his tracks.


    Wen Renye treated him like a soap bubble that could pop at any moment, he didn¡¯t even dare to move and was even breathing very softly. Only after hearing these words did he tentatively raise his hand to wipe away the blood from the corner of his lips. He slowly said, ¡°Are you really alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ok.¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°I feel weak.¡±


    Wen Renye froze for a moment as if a thought had rushed into his mind. He paused for a moment before reaching out and carried Jiang Zheliu out of the hot spring. Then he took off his outer cloak to cover him, to make sure that not even the slightest wisp of a wind could enter. He stood up, embracing the other in his arms and walked towards the little pine house.


    This was really testing his willpower.


    Any part of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body that he came into contact with, seemed to be scolding hot, bringing with it an unusual and wonderful temperature. He hid his youthful love carefully, making countless excuses, only to find that they were useless the moment he was before the other party. All these excuses were utterly useless.


    Whatever the other party was doing, he couldn¡¯t help loving him.


    Jiang Zheliu was only feeling weak but not delirious from the effects of the medicine. He noticed the other¡¯s abnormal heartbeat almost instantly, but Jiang Zheliu was not particularly familiar with the Devil race so he wasn¡¯t sure about their normal heart rate, so he just calmly started counting.


    Over 300 beats per minute ¡­¡­


    He had no experience in love and could not tell from the way Wen Renye behaved, but he could see the devil marks that were running up his neck.


    The devil marks were spreading up from under his robes. The devil marks were a distinctive characteristic of his Devil form¡­.. It was also said that these devil marks would appear when there was an abrupt change in the Devil¡¯s mood that he was unable to control.


    Jiang Zheliu looked over at him and said, ¡°There are many people who are harbouring ill intentions against me.¡±


    Wen Renye choked on his words and violent hostility suddenly surged up within him: ¡°They are all seeking death.¡±


    ¡°Some wanted to kill me to seize the Immortal Sect position, whilst others appeared to be at odds with me, and wanted me to retreat and give way. There are others ¡­¡­ *cough*, who will pretend to be my friend to gain an advantage and then take the chance to get rid of me, which one are you, Junior Lord?¡±


    He asked so calmly and gently that he slowly suppressed Wen Renye¡¯s violent and murderous intent.


    The Devil Lord was silent for a moment and said in a muffled voice, ¡°Neither.¡±


    After closing the door of the house, he placed Jiang Zheliu back on the soft bed. He dried his half-wet hair and thin shirt with a devilish spell. He kept the outer cloak wrapped around him and lit the furnace to the side.


    ¡°How do you feel?¡± Wen Renye asked as he pressed down on his wrist to probe his condition.


    The clotted blood that had accumulated in his chest had dissipated. But his meridians were still broken, a tangled up mess like a ball of string that a cat had been playing with.


    And right now, the sickly cat owner in front of him was pulling tightly on his collar, too sleepy to keep his eyes open, he said slowly, ¡°¡­¡­ Aside from the pain, I feel nothing.¡±


    Chang Qian had transformed back into his original form, and was coiled around an unlit candlestick. The little deer Ah-Chu seemed to be absent, he stayed upstairs quietly.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s voice was very quiet, like a light breeze that would dissipate at any moment. Hearing him, Wen Renye could not help but feel panic in his heart. He couldn¡¯t stop himself from moving closer, he was almost against the tip of his nose. He asked: ¡°Do you blame me for acting first, you actually didn¡¯t want to ¡­¡­¡±


    He doesn¡¯t want to get better; his final wish is to be free to choose if he wants to leave this life.


    Jiang Zheliu was first dizzy from the steam of the Hot Spring, and then stimulated by the effects of the medicine. At this moment, all he wanted to do was sleep. He slowly blinked twice as if to wake up a bit, and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t want to ¡­what?¡±


    Wen Renye looked at him, unable to speak.


    ¡°You seem to always act first, like you staying by my side.¡± said Jiang Zheliu.


    He was really overly sleepy and added vaguely, ¡°But that¡¯s okay, I¡¯m quite used to our current situation.¡±


    It was like accepting the death of his shifu more than a thousand years ago, accepting all the chaos created by the Ling Xiao Sect, as well as the decay and division of the righteous Immortal Sects. Furthermore, he was accepting of the gradual changes in his shidi, the secretive calculations of his good friend, the other difficulties that he might have faced in the natural order of things ¡­¡­ He was accepting of the life and death of those around him, good and evil. From his body to his mind growing in weariness and declining.


    Without the coming of the spring breeze, the willow branches will wither.


    Who is able to predict the ups and downs of the World?


    Jiang Zheliu slowly nestled forward a little and whispered with his eyes closed, ¡°Good neighbour ¡­¡­ thank you very much.¡±


    Wen Renye stared at him with surprise, not making a sound for a long while. He reached out with his hand, wanting to touch the other¡¯s white hair, but before he made contact, he retracted his hand.


    ¡­¡­ Those who were dear to Jiang Zheliu, not one of them, didn¡¯t put their own selfish gain before him. It was like this for Zhu Wuxin, it was also like this for Lie Zhen.


    No one was worth making Jiang Zheliu suffer.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    He slept from near dusk until the early morning.


    The morning light was still weak, it was still dark. The lamps and candles seemed to have been lit by Chang Qian. The little deer Ah-Chu had come and heated up some medicine, but Jiang Zheliu never woke up so the medicine was getting cold.


    Jiang Zheliu reluctantly awoke, still sleepy, he opened his eyes to see his good neighbour holding his hand, his gaze immediately looking over to him.


    Jiang Zheliu: ¡°¡­¡­ Aren¡¯t you going to sleep?¡±


    The other¡¯s eyes were sparkling, he was fully attentive, his purple eyes glowing, ¡°Not sleepy.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him for a moment and said, ¡°Sleep is one of the greatest pleasures in life.¡±


    Wen Renye hesitated for a moment, ¡°Which sleep are you talking about?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu failed to react for a moment, stunned, and then said jokily, ¡°The one you¡¯re thinking of, are you coming or not?¡±

 CH 9

    Vermilion Bird Zhenjun stayed in Zhongnan Mountain for a day or so. After determining that Wen Renye had no intention to harm his good friend, Lie Zhen headed back to the Demon Realm.


    High into the sky, the tree roots twisted and tangled intricately together. There was a violent trembour that came from within Wan Ling Palace.


    Qing Lin sat, drinking tea whilst looking at the irritated Vermilion Bird. Watched him as his Lie Yan Sword violently struck down on the floor. His whole body was emanating a dense thick energy.


    ¡°What¡¯s the point in destroying Wan Ling Palace, will it do you any good?¡± Qing Lin said whilst supporting her chin with the palm of her hand. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Zheliu, all your bones would have been pulverised and thrown to the dogs. Don¡¯t even think about trying to team up with me, I¡¯m not willing to make an enemy of the Devil Realm for this.¡±


    She watched as Lie Zhen¡¯s long red hair began to lose it¡¯s sparks and the phoenix feathers on his body followed swiftly drooping down. The sword in the ground had made a crack but the cold light of the sword was no more. His whole person was a perfect illustration of ¡°A phoenix that has lost its feathers is no better than a chicken¡±.


    Qing Lin glanced over at him and said: ¡°You want to team up with me? Go and kill a half-step Golden Immortal? You¡¯ve really lost it. Back then with Zheliu, on the surface we could say that the two of us together were stronger than him by half. But we were merely messing around. In the end, if we were really engaged in a life and death battle and offend that devil maybe¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°He can¡¯t be that strong¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°He is.¡± Qing Lin firmly cut him off, looking at the back of him, she said: ¡°Wen Renjian has also achieved the half-step Golden Immortal stage, so why would he so easily give up his power and authority to his son. Let me tell you now, Wen Renye is the strongest person in the Devil Realm.¡±


    The anger within Lie Zhen started to ignite again, flames erupted from his body, the temperature began to spike£º¡°Is he stronger than Zheliu£¿ In this world, Zheliu is¡ª¡ª¡±


    This time without Qin Ling cutting him off, Lie Zhen had already stopped speaking. Staring blankly without uttering a word whilst staring at the ancient trees and vines not far away.


    Jiang Zheliu no longer had any spiritual energy¡­¡­


    The rays of light from the sunset painted over the clouds, leaking in through the branches and leaves of ancient trees leaving shadows like the remnants of undried blood.


    After a long silence in the Wan Ling Palace, Qing Lin stood up and looked at the heat, the white smoke from the tears that were close to burning up on the ground.


    ¡°You and I should have expected this day when we chose to stand idly by.¡± Qing Lin walked up to him, watching his phoenix feathers behind his ears tremble slightly. She knew that his heart must be complicated beyond words, ¡°But our good friend who has devoted infinite energy to the Cultivation World, but only received a never-ending reliance from those who followed the Dao. Having done this, not only paves the way but removes obstacles for the Demon Realm. Aside from eliminating an obstruction, we have also freed Zheliu from his responsibilities.¡±


    Qing Lin paused for a moment before adding, ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect that he would be so badly injured. Did the Ling Xiao Sect really not know how to provide him assistance?¡±


    These were all just excuses, but amongst these excuses, there was one important one.


    Lie Zhen¡¯s feelings for his good friend were very complex. Aside from these excuses, within it, there was also another reason ¡­¡­ Zheliu was like a cliffside flower which could be seen only at a distance but could never be touched1 but there had to be an opportunity for someone to pick this flower.


    Jin Yujie nodded slightly and glanced at him, and said£º¡°Fine, wait here and prepare the carriage, a furnace and some medicinal pill. As soon as I find him, I¡¯ll swiftly take Qianbei away with me, and not give those other lechers a chance.¡±


    This cultivator was dumbfounded for a moment and muttered; ¡°Aren¡¯t you the lech¡­¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t finish his sentence because he got slapped on his head by Jin Yujie: ¡°What nonsense are you spouting, Zhu Wuxin lost sight of him, do you know how many people are lusting after him. If I don¡¯t protect Qianbei, and Qianbei gets taken advantage of, what should we do then? Get on with your work!¡±


    After saying this, Jin Yujie couldn¡¯t help rubbing his hands together again. He was dressed in cultivation robes, white on the inside and gold on the outside with a black belt. His clothing was magnificent and exquisite, even his hair ornament was made of top quality spiritual jade. His eyes showed bright and sharp anticipation.


    Unlike the day he had confronted Zhu Wuxin at Ling Xiao Sect, at this moment, Jin Yujie was like a youth who¡¯d come back from blind date. Young and inexperienced, full of feelings of first love, all these feelings bursting out of him.


    Carrying his Qi Xing Sword, he walked up the snowy path of Zhongnan Mountain, passing an empty bamboo garden, he saw the small pine house adjacent to it.


    Inside the small house, there seemed to be signs of life. At the doorway sat a little deer demon with horns so tender that if you pinched them water would come out2. Without a choice and overcome with boredom and seemingly cooking some medicine.


    Jin Yujie knew that his qianbei had often taken in young demons and thought that he must be doing the same now. He was not surprised, so he went over and asked nicely, ¡°Little Deer, does Jiang Xianzun live here?¡±


    Ah-Chu rolled his eyes around to look at him as if he understood something, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re here to take advantage, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Jin Yujie¡¯s smile faltered: ¡°Take advantage¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Or is it to hit someone when they are down?¡± Ah-Chu disdainfully said, ¡°When the protagonist is not down and out, each and every one of you are respectful juniors. A good friend, a caring shidi, but once the protagonist is injured, each and every one of you think you¡¯re the new male protagonist in some third-rate novel who saves people from the chaos, warming the female protagonist¡¯s heart like a heavenly God descending to Earth. Without even considering my Shenxian gege, does he deserve that?¡±


    Jin Yujie was completely stunned by this little deer. Before he could even begin to understand what the other was talking about, Ah-Chu snorted at him, and scolded, ¡°Hatred can be born from love, my god, can¡¯t you people just leave him alone!¡±


    This was the first time that Ah-Chu had seen in real-life the people described in those fiction novels. When he had first arrived, he was trying to dupe Chang Qian, putting in strenuous effort to finally get close to Jiang Zheliu. Now he was close to the protagonist, all of the discourse in his heart that he had locked up was blurted out. After he finished speaking, he turned to enter the house and slammed the door behind him.


    After Ah-Chu closed the door and entered the house, he immediately turned back into a clueless sweet little deer and placed the medicine he¡¯d just cooked up next to Jiang Zheliu.


    Jiang Zheliu nodded as if he was responding to this appellation, he casually said£º¡°Yujie, can you pass a word onto the Pavilion Lord, tell him that I am ill and that I won¡¯t be going there.¡±


    Jin Yujie felt his throat was dry, he forcefully nodded: ¡°How about I stay here and take care of you¡­¡­¡±


    He¡¯d hardly finished speaking when he saw Jiang Zheliu slightly furrow his brow.


    His heart instantly skipped a bit, he was afraid that he had annoyed Qianbei with what he had just said. In fact he was so tense that his heart nearly leapt up to his throat, until he heard the other party say softly.


    ¡°Has the matter with Chang Qian been dealt with?¡±


    Jin Yujie paused for a moment, he felt dizzy from the enormous wave of devil energy that was rushing towards him from behind. In an instant, a semi-revealed devil hand suddenly wrapped around his neck, the bony growth almost impaling his throat, lifting him like a hanging object and moving him out of the way.


    ¡°En, no one will come after him again.¡±


    Wen Renye first responded to his beloved, then his purple eyes glanced over at Jin Yujie. His pupils were bright, serene and hidden in depth, with a smile that was mysterious and dangerous concealing his killing intent.


    ¡°You¡¯re in my way.¡±

 CH 10

    The atmosphere became somewhat heavy.


    Wen Renye loosened the collar of his crimson outer cloak with one hand and untied it and the snowflakes on it disappeared with a shake, he hung it up in his usual manner.


    ¡°Who is this?¡± asked Wen Renye.


    Jiang Zheliu glanced over at him and said: ¡°The Junior Lord of the Peerless Sword Pavilion, my junior.¡±


    This devil looked normal enough, but the hostility in his body was almost full to the point of overflowing, as if it was encircling around his neck, it was bone-chilling and enough to send a chill down anyone¡¯s spine.


    Jin Yujie could guess why Vermilion Bird Zhenjun had not been able to take Jiang Qianbei away ¨C this person had taken advantage of the situation and held Qianbei hostage.


    Jin Yujie¡¯s back was wet from cold sweat, he didn¡¯t look at the devil, his brain was too full of chaotic thoughts, he didn¡¯t know what to make of all this drama, subconsciously thinking that his Qianbei had been forced in someway which made him compromise with the devil and share a home with him.


    Jiang Zheliu waved his hand and said to the young man in front of him that he had raised himself: ¡°You, come over here.¡±


    Jin Yujie clenched his fist, so hard that he was almost making indents in the palm of his own hand, he hated himself deeply for his incompetence. He exhaled a long breath and sheepishly made his way over to Jiang Zheliu.


    ¡°Since you know that I¡¯m here,¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°there¡¯s no need to keep looking, I¡¯m just fine.¡±


    Jin Yujie nodded with difficulty, his gaze was obscure, it was unsure if he had actually taken note of what had been said.


    ¡°And that goes for the others. The Way1 is long and difficult, and you have a boundless future, it is time to take up your responsibilities.¡± Jiang Zheliu¡¯s tone was light, emanating a familiar ice-like aura.


    It was like the wind and snow of the Zhongnan Mountains, with a chill that rushed into your lungs, making you wake up instantly.


    Jiang Zheliu stretched out his hand, just as he had done many years ago, and touched the top of his hair calmly, but he only made contact with the cold hair ornament on top of his head.


    He retracted his hand and said quietly: ¡°I won¡¯t see you out, you should go home now.¡±


    Standing stunned for a moment, Jin Yujie suddenly clutched the other¡¯s robes violently as the other was withdrawing his hand and he blurted out:¡°¡­¡­Qianbei!¡±


    Not far behind him, the purple devilish dagger had clipped a fiery-red feather. It had missed Lie Zhen¡¯s eye by just a breadth of a hair.


    This Vermilion Bird had arrived at an unknown time. It was as if he had just arrived, but at the same time perhaps he had been hanging around outside the window for a long while.


    Vermilion Bird Zhenjun transformed back into his human form. He bent down to pick up the loose feather from the ground and then jumped in through the window, glancing at the few people in the room. His gaze not even stopping on Jin Yujie, he walked straight up to his good friend.


    ¡°Zheliu.¡± Lie Zhen pulled out a small jade bottle, the Immortal Healing Elixir from the Demon Realm. ¡°I went back to bring something for you, I think it should be useful to you.¡±


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t gege always have a headache, it cures headaches too.¡± Ah-Chu blinked at him, his eyes revealed his desire to try to curry favour.


    Jiang Zheliu could sense he had an ulterior motive, but as they grew to live and get to each other better, he knew that this little deer was not wicked, so he didn¡¯t say anything.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if mortal medicinal wines could do anything good for this body, but due to its weak medicinal effects, it was a safer and easier option to try out.


    In the middle of their conversation, Wen Renye picked up his crimson cloak and turned to take a few steps outside, just as he was about to push the door open, he suddenly heard Jiang Zheliu¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Wen Renye?¡±


    Usually, he would have called him ¡°Good Neighbour¡± or ¡°Junior Lord¡±. He rarely called him by his full name.


    Wen Renye stopped and turned to face him.


    Jiang Zheliu stopped writing and looked at him for a moment, his eyes dark and bitter, not a single ray of light could penetrate.

 CH 11

    There really was a shooting star that night.


    Jiang Zheliu had predicted this before he had gone to mend the Realm Boundary. Thanks to the remote location of Zhongnan Mountain, it was actually a very good location to watch the shooting star, and it could be seen quite clearly.


    Back then, when he still had his cultivation, he had predicted this night. But at that time, it had not occurred to him that he¡¯d have the opportunity to drop everything and watch it so peacefully in this way.


    A snow overcoat was draped around Jiang Zheliu¡¯s shoulders, the fleece was fine and light, and the collar had a bright red lining. It had been tied tightly by Wen Renye, wrapping him up well so that not a wisp of wind would get in.


    He had the devilish handwarmer in his lap, warming up the palms of his hands. At this moment the terrain was utterly silent, the night was dense and the stars were twinkling.


    Snow had fallen everywhere on Zhongnan Mountain, as well as on the small pavilion. Jiang Zheliu sat in the pavilion at the peak of the mountain. Wine was boiling on the stone table making a gurgling and bubbling sound.


    That was for Wen Renye, he himself was only drinking tea.


    As Jiang Zheliu lowered his head to drink his tea, his long snow-white hair was taken away by the night breeze and fell along beside his ears, effortlessly, in Wen Renye¡¯s eyes, it was such a beautiful sight that he thought he¡¯d entered into some sort of fantasy land.


    The Devil Lord was afraid that he would be cold, so he covered him up tightly, but he still felt that Jiang Zheliu was very cold. His body was cold and hard to warm.


    ¡°So, do you always just consider the greater good?¡± Wen Renye hadn¡¯t forgotten what had happened earlier, and he was still feeling quite worked up about it, as he poured the wine he said, ¡°People like you will die from exhaustion sooner or later.¡±


    He didn¡¯t really say this with much ferocity, it was more a sense of disbelief and frustration.


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t get angry either and he even nodded his head in agreement. He took a sip of his bitter tea and said: ¡°I have thought about dying this way many times, but now I am fortunate to have some peace. Perhaps I have hope of living out the rest of my days peacefully ¡­¡­ Will you prepare my grave for me?¡±


    He could not tell what kind of mood Wen Renye was in from his gaze. Wen Renye stared at Jiang Zheliu closely, as if he was a volcano that had been waiting to erupt for a long time: ¡°I don¡¯t care where you die.¡±


    This devil never said what his heart was really feeling. The more he cared, the more his heart ached. The more he felt Jiang Zheliu was doing something for those who were undeserving, the more he refused to console him. His heart was burning like a fire, but the flame was smothered by Jiang Zheliu¡¯s words, leaving only a beaten flame that represented the pain of his innermost feelings.


    ¡°Heartless.¡± Jiang Zheliu commented once again, as he looked up at the vast horizon, at the twinkling stars in the pitch black sky, ¡°You are still young and talented, your future is extremely promising.¡±


    Whenever Jiang Zheliu spoke, he always spoke to him like he was his senior, but it was true that he could be considered an elder. When Wen Renye and his father had gone to Ling Xiao Sect to negotiate a treaty during the power struggles amongst the stirring undercurrent, Wen Renye was still in his youth. In the prime of youth, only concerned about cultivation and swordplay so that he could reach the top.


    ¡°If I had such a successor, I¡¯m afraid I could wake up laughing in my sleep, to know under the Netherworld that¡­¡­


    Before he had finished speaking, Wen Renye was glaring at him intensely, seemingly he was extremely displeased with him for saying such things.


    Jiang Zheliu took it in stride and avoided the subject, turning the hand warmer in his hand as he said, ¡°My shidi is also young and talented.¡±


    In Wen Renye¡¯s opinion, this was simply him making an excuse for his shidi. But he did not continue to retort, because as long as he was alive, he would certainly not let Jiang Zheliu suffer.


    The surface of the tea moved slightly, it had been cooled a little by the night breeze. Jiang Zheliu placed the cup on the stone table.


    ¡°Wuxin is naturally proud and conceited, and may not be as mature as you when it comes to certain things.¡± Jiang Zheliu looked far up into the sky, ¡°I¡¯ve let everything go, now I don¡¯t know what the future holds.¡±


    Wen Renye could not bear it any longer, his grip was so tight on the cup of wine that it smashed into pieces. He then took out a new one and said with a cold face: ¡°Your shifu has done really well raising you. Making you put all your efforts into it, unto your dying day.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu glanced at him, ¡°You¡¯re angry again, what exactly can I say that won¡¯t make you angry?¡±


    Even Wen Renye did not expect his own mood swings to be so violent. Only after it had been pointed out by the other, did he come back to his senses. He reached out to hold the other¡¯s ice-cold hand, and after a long silence, said in a muffled voice, ¡°I¡¯ll make you better.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was looking at him with his pitch-black eyes, they looked like calm bottomless pools, containing nothing but ice-cold deep water, utterly empty.


    ¡°Can you stop thinking about how to die all the time.¡± The Devil Lord was a little annoyed, ¡°You should be thinking about how to continue living.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu did not speak, but skipped over his glass, grabbing the wooden spoon to ladle the richly scented hot wine on the small furnace and pouring it into his tea cup.


    His movements were so fluid that no one would have noticed for a moment that there was anything wrong with what he was doing. His wrists which were poking out from his sleeves were slim, narrow and slender, they were pale and colourless. Even his nails had a fragile translucency. He resembled more like a finished white jade sculpture.


    The hot wine fell into the teacup, and it was only when Jiang Zheliu put the wooden spoon down that Wen Renye noticed something odd and took a hold of his wrist, ¡°You can¡¯t drink wine.¡±


    His body temperature was dangerously low and his wrist were so slender that it seemed they¡¯d snap if twisted.


    ¡°Junior Lord¡¯s wine smells too good.¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°Let me taste it.¡±


    The other didn¡¯t reply.


    ¡°Heavenly Spirit Body.¡± Jiang Zheliu was concise: ¡°It wants to get pregnant.¡±


    Wen Renye£º¡°£¿£¿£¿¡±


    In the past, when he had his cultivation, he was able to suppress it, but now since he didn¡¯t have a spark of spiritual energy, he naturally couldn¡¯t suppress the outward manifestations of his special physique.


    After saying that, Jiang Zheliu stopped caring, seemingly completely oblivious to what all the fuss was about.


    Wen Renye froze for a long time, staring at the sleeping sickly beauty in a daze. His mind kept circling back to the other¡¯s words he had just said, wondering whether he should pry open Jiang Zheliu¡¯s head to see if he was talking nonsense, or whether he should pry open his own head to see if his hearing was normal.


    He forced himself to stay silent for a short period, and then he asked again with considerable difficulty.


    ¡°¡­¡­ just ignore it?¡±


    Wen Renye did not think he would get an answer, but after a short moment, he still heard Jiang Zheliu¡¯s vague and sleepy voice.


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    He then murmured, ¡°Stop talking and let me sleep ¡­¡­¡±


    This sickly willow tree took a long while to wake up from his sleep and he would lose his temper if he was disturbed. Wen Renye didn¡¯t speak again, his mind was buzzing for quite a while, staring at the quilt, then the other¡¯s inner robes. The Devil¡¯s gaze finally fell upon the other¡¯s abdomen.


    ¡­¡­his body, wants a baby£¿


    He had heard about the Heavenly Spirit Body, but what was it£¿


    Wen Renye felt that his devilish life was being challenged in a huge way.

 CH 12

    Wen Renye had a sleepless night.


    Not only did he stay awake all night, Ah-Chu had also been buzzing around the place, muttering and chanting under his breath. Chang Qian went over and listened carefully for a while before hearing him mutter something like ¡°Is this the uncensored version of the book?¡±


    Chang Qian didn¡¯t think much about it. Because of the big shock from earlier, now he was no longer that surprised, so he simply tidied up and went to bed.


    Wen Renye sat by Jiang Zheliu¡¯s bed, watching the frail and still feverish Xianzun sleeping peacefully, half of his face buried in the quilt, his long snow-white hair falling softly and disheveled, his eyelids had a rosy tint.


    He didn¡¯t feel sleepy at all, staring at Jiang Zheliu, the more he looked at him, the more awake he became, never having been so awake before. So awake he could even write a ten thousand essay on his insightful reflections about the structure of the Heavenly Spirit Physique.


    Jiang Zheliu slept quite deeply and without disturbances he didn¡¯t even move around much.


    It was a silent and serene night.


    When the morning light leaked through the wooden window and he had almost slept enough, he opened his eyes lazily to see the Devil Lord¡¯s purple eyes, full of curiosity and confusion.


    Jiang Zheliu slowly regained his senses, glanced at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡­¡­You¡¯re asking me what¡¯s wrong. Wen Renye¡¯s furrowed brows turned to a deathly frown, and after having it brew in his mind all night, he said aggressively, ¡°You know you can have children?¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Jiang Zheliu nodded.


    What the h*ll, admitting to it like it was nothing.


    Wen Renye¡¯s blood pressure was rising again and after grinding his teeth, he continued, ¡°Well then why would you let me sleep with you!¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him blankly, wondering what was wrong with pure sleep.


    ¡°What if I¡¯m terrible and shameless and ravaged your body?¡± Wen Renye said forcefully, ¡°You don¡¯t even know how to protect yourself!¡±


    Jiang Zheliu£º¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu had really never made any special efforts just because of his special physique. When he still had his cultivation, if others even glanced at him, it would have been respectful and pious, let alone anyone trying to act shamelessly. Now that his body has reached this point, there is no need to take extra precautions. If Wen Renye really had been that shameless, Jiang Zheliu probably would have died already.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t listen to me when I told you that you couldn¡¯t drink. I¡¯ve never seen such a big temper, no matter what I say you won¡¯t listen¡­¡­¡±


    How did the Junior Lord of the Devil Realm become like this? What happened to the ¡°ruthless¡± and ¡°murderous¡± nature of Devils?


    ¡°Don¡¯t say to me that it¡¯s fine to drink once in a while, you¡¯re so fragile that I¡¯m afraid if I touch you, you¡¯ll break, but it seems that you are quite capable of doing that yourself¡­¡­¡± Wen Renye rambled on and on for half a day, feeling that he was simply worried, and after he finished, he saw the other party nodding perfunctorily.


    ¡­¡­he was so furious.


    He reached out to hold Jiang Zheliu by his shoulders and said righteously, ¡°You need to take this seriously, and this sudden fever of yours, can you take it more seriously?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu helplessly reiterated, ¡°But it¡¯s really nothing.¡±


    Wen Renye felt his blood pressure still rising as he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯m a Devil, I¡¯m not a good person, can¡¯t you be scared of me?¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± Jiang Zheliu sighed, ¡°Ok, I¡¯m afraid, let go of me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that gege can¡¯t see it.¡± Chang Qian said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you make things clear? Doesn¡¯t gege like him?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was silent for a moment, then he reached out and ruffled the little snake¡¯s hair, and said, ¡°We haven¡¯t known each other for long, how can we talk about liking each other?¡±


    Furthermore, he had one foot in the grave, his days were numbered. Wen Renye was still in his prime and had a promising future ahead of him. If they really did feel something for each other, and they decided to start something, but his illness couldn¡¯t be cured, he would pass away within the next few years. How would Wen Renye bear to continue living without him for the remainder of his long endless life.


    He smiled calmly as he thought about it and whispered, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to clear up, so why say anything at all.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Ling Xiao Sect.


    In the inner hall, the unparalleled Lingxiao Sword lay flat on the table, its sharpness still intact but its cold light hidden, a far cry from the time it was in Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hands.


    Zhu Wuxin sat on the seat of the Sect Master and stared at the sword.


    Zhu Wuxin was actually very good-looking, but his expression at the moment was so gloomy that people dared not approach him.


    He stared for a long time, but he was unable to wait for even the slightest response from Ling Xiao Sword. He was feeling more and more resentful, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    The Ling Xiao Sword did not acknowledge him, the sword spirit was hidden deep inside with absolutely no intention of coming out. In his shixiong¡¯s hands, the sword vibrated and trembled, it was invincible, but in his hands, it ¡­¡­


    It was clearly the famous sword of the Ling Xiao Sect, the cherished object that his father had in his hands for many years and which, by definition, should have been connected to him by blood and resonated with him. But reality smacked him hard in the face.


    Zhu Wuxin took a deep breath and put the Ling Xiao Sword back into the scabbard. Just then, a young disciple wearing the Ling Xiao Sect robes entered the hall and knelt down to report, ¡°Zhangmen, we have found out where Jin Yujie went. He definitely went to the Zhongnan Mountain a few days ago.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin¡¯s eyelids fluttered and he hurriedly asked, ¡°And then what?¡±


    From what he knew about his shixiong, he knew that his own shixiong would not change his decision easily, but he did not think that Jin Yujie would really be able to take Jiang Zheliu back with him.


    ¡°Then Jin Yujie descended the mountain alone. Since he has returned, he seemed to be distracted the whole time, and then he went to Heaven Pavilion Sect and met with Wang Wenyuan.¡±


    That prick ¡­¡­ Zhu Wuxin rubbed his fingers together and said, ¡°What¡¯s Wang Wenyuan up to?¡±


    The hall was silent again as Zhu Wuxin sat where he was and passed on the message to the elders of the Ling Xiao Sect, before standing up and glancing out of the hall.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if his shixiong had said anything, but that Jin Yujie was personally raised by his shixiong, not to mention, he was like half a shifu to Jin Yujie, he could even be considered half a father to him.


    ¡­¡­ If the Peerless Sword Pavilion Sect and Heaven Pavilion Sect unite ¡­¡­


    Zhu Wuxin thought for a long time, from most tedious matters to the more serious ones in the Ling Xiao Sect and then thinking about the relationship between the various sects in the Cultivation World and then finally the state of the World as a whole. But in the end, all his thoughts lead back to the one that had always dressed in white.


    His shixiong never liked colours that were too warm. It was as if his shixiong had a million things to do every day, as if every single thing in the Cultivation World needed to be personally handled by him. He always looked indifferent, neither happy nor unhappy.


    Zhu Wuxin had always believed that Jiang Zheliu had more or less enjoyed his elite status, which was why he had always taken such good care of the Cultivation world, the Ling Xiao Sect, and of him¡­¡­. And it was because of this, that wherever he went, people would never introduce him as Zhu Wuxin, nor as the son of the former Ling Xiao Sect Leader, but always as ¡°Jiang Xianzun¡¯s shidi¡±.


    That form of address by those people, it was equal to saying that he was only an embellishment, a symbol of his shixiong¡¯s prestige.


    Zhu Wuxin collected his thoughts when his eyes fell on the seal on the table ¨C it was a personal seal of Jiang Zheliu, engraved with the words ¡®Spring Breeze in the Willows¡¯1.


    It was a pity that when his shixiong left it was the harsh winter. There was no spring breeze, he also didn¡¯t see him off that day.


    Zhu Wuxin didn¡¯t know what he was feeling. He reached up to fix the collar on his cloak, holding the Ling Xiao sword in his hand, he walked out of the inner hall, saying to the disciples standing by, ¡°I¡¯m going out, if anyone asks, just say ¡­¡­¡±


    He paused for a moment and said, ¡°I suddenly encountered something difficult, so I¡¯ve gone to see my shixiong.¡±

 CH 13

    It was snowing lightly on Zhongnan Mountain.


    The mountain was full of evergreen pines and abundant in spiritual energy.


    As Zhu Wuxin passed by the gravestone, he swept his hand across the top of it to brush away the thin layer of snow. He looked at the offerings that had been left before the gravestone and immediately understood that Jiang Zheliu had been here and hadn¡¯t left.


    He looked at the inscription on the gravestone ¡ª¡ª Those engravings were written by his shixiong because at that time he was still too young£¬so he was unable to leave such a deep engraving upon the heavy stone. Jiang Zheliu had done it in his place as well as taking charge of Ling Xiao Sect in his stead.


    Zhu Wuxin swept a glance over it then thought to himself that it was time to let all of this go. Now everything had fallen back into its rightful place, there was not even a thread out of alignment. He even thought that if his shixiong was willing, he would also let him come back to Ling Xiao Sect¡­.


    He noticed that he missed Jiang Zheliu a bit.


    Zhu Wuxin quickly passed over the burial ground and walked towards the bamboo garden and little house not far away. There wasn¡¯t anyone in the garden and he couldn¡¯t sense any signs of life inside. As if there was some sort of facade in place for show. And to the side of the elegant small pinewood house, there was an utterly dazzling and showy door made from Wan Ling stone, the aesthetics were clearly in-line with the personal style of that bird from the Demon Realm.


    Zhu Wuxin grasped his sword and advanced forward. He noticed a little deer who was still growing his horns out sitting outside boiling some medicine. The medicinal ingredients seemed to be ordinary wild grass and herbs that grew readily on Zhongnan Mountain. The smell from the medicine was pungent and bitter, the smell lingered in the air for some time


    ¡­¡­He hasn¡¯t changed, still taking in those little lost demons.


    Zhu Wuxin remembered that Jiang Zheliu was particularly popular with demons. When he was a child, he had bought himself a two-tailed cat which never gave him the time of day. But when it saw his shixiong, it always clung to him, licking him and kissing him as if it wanted to please him. Even though his shixiong was cold and aloof and didn¡¯t even pet it. This never stopped any of those little animals and demons from being infatuated by him and trying to stay by his side.


    After a while, many people thought that the Xianzun of Ling Xiao Sect liked keeping these little demons as pets. They had even tried to curry favour with his shixiong using these little demons. Although Jiang Zheliu said nothing at the beginning, after a while he politely clarified the situation to prevent his quarters being overrun with little demon pets.


    Actually, it was not just little demons but even everyone who has ever met him ¡­¡­


    Zhu Wuxin collected his thoughts and walked over to the little deer demon. He looked at the medicine in the furnace beside him, squatted down and said, ¡°Have you plucked all the seedlings of the Xuan Lingzhi1? Why didn¡¯t you let it grow for a few more hundred years before you picked it. If you wait till all seven cloves to sprout, it will be the best in the Cultivation World.¡±


    Without looking up, Ah-Chu grumbled, ¡°If we waited until the Lingzhi matured, he¡¯d have passed away already.¡±


    It was only after he finished complaining that he suddenly felt something was wrong and immediately looked up to see Zhu Wuxin¡¯s handsome, smiling face.


    Ah Chu stared blankly at him and asked: ¡°Who are you?¡±


    It was the first time Zhu Wuxin had seen him since that day.


    The small house had curtains that had been strung with turquoise pearls, the decor resembled something from the Devil Realm, it was simplistic but romantic in style.


    Zhu Wuxin placed the medicine bowl gently on the edge of the table. He saw a mass of snow-white fur covering a rattan lounge chair. The cloak was white and soft, the top and bottom had a white fur trim lining, and behind that fur were a few strands of white hair that almost blended in with the fur trimmed cloak.


    The room was silent with only the slightest movement of the wind.


    The window was only half-open so the mountain breeze shook the beaded curtains lightly. The furnace had been burning for a long time.


    Zhu Wuxin stared at his back, the mental preparation that he had made whilst on his way here was completely shattered. He almost forgot the purpose of this trip, he had only one thing on his mind ¨C what the hell kind of place is this, and is it worthy of his shixiong?


    Zhu Wuxin hadn¡¯t actually seen him sleep much because Jiang Zheliu rarely took rest. His previous level of cultivation was enough for him to last for a long time without sleep.


    This snow cloak was also made by the Devils. Zhu Wuxin stopped at the side of the lounge chair and touched the cloak to take a closer look, he knew that it was made from a valuable material of the Devil Realm. All the doubts that had been building up in his mind so far, were starting to build up even more, he took a hold of the edge of the snow cloak and tugged at it wanting to see if there were any marks or symbols to be found on it, but he was met with some resistance.


    He put on a ¡°I won¡¯t ask anymore about this as long as you come back with me¡± look and extended his hand towards Jiang Zheliu with a hint of deliberate pity and charity in his tone.


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t want to get angry with him and said calmly, ¡°I have never thought of it like that.¡±


    This was supposed to be to console him but it made all the bitterness and anger that Zhu Wuxin was suppressing erupt to the surface. Zhu Wuxin¡¯s eyes burned with anger£¬seemingly not believing that his shixiong did not blame him. His brain was fuzzy and filled with obscure thoughts. In the end, he could only stare into Jiang Zheliu¡¯s pitch-black eyes.


    The bitterness filled the air, like an ascending fog.


    Zhu Wuxin clenched his fists forcefully, closed his eyes for a moment to try to calm his mind, and then opened his eyes to say: ¡°Who is your devil friend?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu took the bowl of medicine, not wanting to bicker with the little brat, he slowly took a sip of the medicine without speaking.


    But little brats don¡¯t take kindly to being given the cold-shoulder, Zhu Wuxin¡¯s imagination was roaming wild. He could not stand it any longer and snatched the porcelain bowl from the other¡¯s hand, spilling half of the contents all over the floor.


    Zhu Wuxin clasped the other¡¯s shoulders tightly, his emotions were too intense to describe: ¡°Shixiong, tell me£¬who is taking care of you? We grew up together. After all these years, do you trust an outsider more than me?! You and I have always been so close, it¡¯s impossible that there is a third-wheel! Shixiong, come back with me. There isn¡¯t any one good from the Devil Realm. They are all ruthless and evil and will get you killed sooner or later¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s shoulders ached from his grip and he frowned gently, sighing£º¡°It¡¯s the Junior Lord of the Devil Realm.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin was stunned: ¡°¡­¡­Junior Lord?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said patiently: ¡°Wen Renye.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin had only recently learned the change in leadership in the Devil Realm. However, he was not aware that the two had even met before, nor could he have imagined that in such a short period of time, with his shixiong¡¯s cold personality, he would have established such a deep friendship with the Devil Lord!


    Zhu Wuxin had a rush of blood to the head, his chest heaving with anger as he gritted his teeth and said£º¡°Wen Renye? When did you meet him? He¡¯s a nobody, how could he be worth keeping by your side? You¡­¡­¡±


    When Zhu Wuxin said this, another possibility suddenly occurred to him, he paused for a moment, then he slowly said£º¡°¡­¡­Is this shixiong¡¯s plan£¿¡±

 CH 14

    Wen Renye obviously didn¡¯t believe the ¡°fix the door¡± excuse. Staring at Jiang Zheliu¡¯s blood-stained lips, he undid the metal clasp and his blood-soaked cloak dropped to the ground.


    Wen Renye reached out with his hand, using a finger that had not been soiled by fresh blood to wipe away the red stain from the other¡¯s lips, he frowned and said: ¡°Be serious.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s lips were very soft, carrying a slight chill. Just from that one touch, he could feel his frosty breath.


    Jiang Zheliu grabbed a hold of the other¡¯s wrist, not at all fazed by the wet blood on the other¡¯s hands. He glanced over his wrists but did not discover any injuries. He didn¡¯t ask anything about it, instead he took another look at the two horns on the other¡¯s head and then with a serious tone in his voice: ¡°Little monster, my shidi smashed the door and I accidentally activated the bracelet.¡±


    Wen Renye frowned: ¡°How could there be so many accidents?¡±


    It really wasn¡¯t wrong to call him a monster, as soon as he was away from Jiang Zheliu, his entire body would reek of death and unbridled killing intent, resembling exactly those evil doers in novels, killing anyone in their path without a trace of mercy.


    Wen Renye turned around, swept a glance over to the damaged door. Then his gaze followed the long trail in the snow that led up to a person who was trying to get up with difficulty. Zhu Wuxin was pressing the palm of his hand against the sword to try to pull himself up.


    Wen Renye recognised that sword. He also recognised the scabbard.


    The entire scabbard of the Ling Xiao Sword was a faint blue. It was made from Millenium ice. On it were a number of engravings and carvings of rare and precious beasts£¬namely the four divisions 1. Upon it was even the engraving of the two words ¡°Ling Xiao¡± that was personally carved by the founder of the Ling Xiao Sect. The sword was impressive and imposing.


    The first time Wen Renye saw this sword, it was in the hands of Jiang Zheliu. The sword had exhibited an extremely insipid and deep chill. The tip of the sword was moistened by bright-red blood that was left from the strike to his chest, a bloody stain from his heart.


    Jiang Zheliu had flicked his wrist and stuck the sword back into the scabbard. That small glimpse of the world¡¯s most indescribable sword-intent was collected and preserved in that icy scabbard, and the sword intent had sunk into silence in an instant.


    Wen Renye clenched his fist, his bones making a crunching sound as he did. His murderous purple eyes grew darker and darker, the still moist blood dripping from his fingertips.


    He had hastily changed back into his human form when he was hurrying back here. The bodies of devils are fierce and atrocious looking. He was in a hurry that he hadn¡¯t actually fully transformed completely. In this moment, the double horns covered with devilish patterns on his head silently faded away, as if they had ever existed.


    But just as he was walking towards Zhu Wuxin, he was gently called back by Jiang Zheliu.


    In this world, aside from him, there could be no one else that could stop this Devil Lord. But at this time, Wen Renye¡¯s rage was so inconsolable that he didn¡¯t even want to listen to Jiang Zheliu. With his back facing the latter he said coldly: ¡°I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t know you were such a masochist? You don¡¯t fight back when hit, you don¡¯t retort when being insulted.¡±


    ¡°When shifu was on his deathbed, he held my hand and said that he wanted me to protect him for the rest of my life.¡± Jiang Zheliu stared at the back of Wen Renye, his tone softening as he slowly said, ¡°Ninety li is merely a half of a hundred li journey2, I am only one step away from departing this life.¡±


    The devilish energy hovering in front of Zhu Wuxin did not dissipate.


    It took a few more breaths before the black blade which had killed countless people, withdrew itself and was slammed viciously into the snow, making the snowflakes dance wildly around it.


    Standing between the two, Wen Renye turned to Jiang Zheliu and stared at him, ¡°Why do you say it¡¯s only one step away? When did I allow you to die.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was stunned for a moment hearing the insistence in his voice.


    ¡°I won¡¯t kill him but you have to come with me to see the physician. If you refuse I¡¯ll immediately kill him!¡±


    The Devil Lord slowly eased his grip. He retracted his hand, the slender black blade followed suit and dissipated into the air.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you want the choice to live or die. Jiang Zheliu, you have never really lived for yourself. How do you dare say that there is nothing left to live for?¡± Wen Renye walked up to him. The red devilish marks on his neck were faintly glowing, his fury still unabated, ¡°I want you to recover. You must listen to me.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    He turned his eyes to watch the sulking little devil staring at the medicine stove, not saying a word to him.


    The candle flickered. Jiang Zheliu continued to look at him for a moment before saying, ¡°What were you doing before you rushed back today? Is everything okay?¡±


    Before Wen Renye rushed back, the Devil Realm were prying open the third Xuan Tongju Gate4 to eliminate the beings inside. When the battle was gaining momentum, the trembling sound of the bracelet suddenly called out to him so he returned to Jiang Zheliu¡¯s side without even thinking.


    Xuan Tongju Gate isn¡¯t actually a gate, but just an underground crevice. The Devil Realm is barren and infertile so the Devils replied upon the three naturally formed Xuan Tongju Gates in order to obtain a large amount of resources and treasures. But living beneath the cracks, there were many, many different species of indescribable creatures, that have not yet gained spiritual enlightenment so they were truly fiendish.


    At that time, it seemed the battle was going their way, nothing should have gone wrong.


    Wen Renye looked at the hot medicine and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    After he said that, he turned his head to look at him, just in time to see Jiang Zheliu looking down at the box of ointment, his eyelashes fluttering slightly, casting a faint shadow under his eyelids. He paused for a moment before saying: ¡°¡­¡­I didn¡¯t frighten you being covered in blood right?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked surprised but then he joked with a slight smile in his tone, ¡°I was also covered in blood when I suppressed the border of the Devil Realm back then, were you scared by me?¡±


    Only then did Wen Renye come back to his senses and realise his own silly question. But he was also still too young when Jiang Zheliu had suppressed the Devil Realm, so he had only heard about it, and not seen it with his own eyes.


    The medicine had cooled down sufficiently, and Jiang Zheliu had only taken a few sips when he heard the other¡¯s voice.


    ¡°In a few days, let¡¯s go to Dan Xin5 Monastery.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with the words Dan Xin Monastery, even the Immortal physician there wasn¡¯t unfamiliar to him. His name was known across all the Realms.


    ¡°To see Yu Jinnian?¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t save sick people that have one foot in the grave.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°Okok. I¡¯m not.¡± Jiang Zheliu could only agree with him. He said in a placating way, ¡°I will work hard to keep on living, do anything you say.¡±

 CH 15

    The day before leaving Zhongnan Mountain, Jiang Zheliu went to tidy up his master¡¯s grave.


    That day was a light snow day, no one knew what he had said in front of the gravestone, but Wen Renye could guess that it was only about the Cultivation World, Ling Xiao Sect, or even Zhu Wuxin.


    Wen Renye stood just a short distance away, watching Jiang Zheliu until the snow-white figure finally left Zhu Wenyuan gravestone and walked back up to him.


    Jiang Zheliu was not well, and it is cold outside in Zhongnan Mountain. Wen Renye didn¡¯t actually want to even let him pay his respect to his shifu, but Jiang Zheliu was stubborn and wilful in nature. Although he looked indifferent and cold and didn¡¯t get angry about anything, he often decided what he wanted to do on his own.


    However, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case this time for the trip down the mountain to see the physician. It seemed that a large part of the reason was down to Wen Renye¡¯s persuasion.


    Wen Renye rubbed his hands together, he felt a real chill, and couldn¡¯t help but frown, ¡°You ¡­¡­ nevermind, you won¡¯t listen anyway.¡±


    The ruthless Devil Lord was always helpless before Jiang Zheliu. All he could do was warm the other¡¯s hands whilst saying, ¡°It¡¯s a long road, but I can¡¯t use a teleportation technique to take you there. If it wasn¡¯t for Yu Jinnian¡¯s dumb rules, I would have captured, no ¡­¡­ invited him to come to Zhongnan Mountain.¡±


    Yu Jinnian was one of the world¡¯s leading spiritual physicians, a master of both medicine and poison, and was also known as the ¡°Divine Sage of Medicine¡±. However, he would never housecalls so one could only go to Danxin Monastery to seek medical treatment, this was his iron-clad rule.


    Jiang Zheliu had actually met him before, and the two of them had dealt with each other quite a lot, but they were not close so the two of them did not really know each other¡¯s character very well.


    Jiang Zheliu jerked his finger but he was unable to retract his hand, and could only let the Junior Devil Lord in front of him hold it tightly.


    ¡°I wish to return here before the Spring.¡± He paused and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve discussed with Ah-Chu to use the empty space in front of the house, we will plant some flowers and medicinal herbs and set it up as a flower and herb garden.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said it really seriously, as if he had really planned it carefully with Ah-Chu for a long time. Wen Renye couldn¡¯t bear to burst his bubble, but after a moment¡¯s silence, he said hesitantly, ¡°Are you even able to pick up a hoe to do the weeding?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu stopped talking and looked over at it.


    The atmosphere was a little awkward for a moment.


    In this moment, the Devil Lord fully exhibited his fearless mindset: ¡°Really? I don¡¯t believe it.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu stopped outside the small pine house, he looked down to undo the clasp of his cloak, and walked in after shaking off the light dusting of snow. Calmly saying: ¡°If you don¡¯t believe it, why don¡¯t you try it.¡±


    Because Jiang Zheliu¡¯s cultivation was destroyed and his body was weak, it wasn¡¯t possible to use any form of transportation techniques or displacement methods. For this trip, they could only rely on the mundane mortal roads and comply with the rules set for cultivators entering the Mortal Realm.


    The identity papers were naturally fake, and even the devil horses had been disguised. The two carriages looked like the carriages of a gongzi from a well-to-do family going out on a trip, visually on the outside, it looked completely normal.


    Jiang Zheliu took the paperwork, and looked at the two names on the papers, they hadn¡¯t been changed. He moved his eyes down and read, ¡°¡­¡­ Gusu Residents, cousins ¡­¡­¡±


    He raised his eyes to look at Wen Renye and continued on to look at the rest of the papers to check nothing else was out of place before speaking, ¡°Cousins? I¡¯m the same generation as your father, Junior Lord, you ¡­¡­¡±


    That was true, but he also wasn¡¯t one to reproach others about it. After all, Chang Qian was Wen Renye¡¯s nephew, but still called him gege.


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t think of anything else to say to him, the most he could say was that Wen Renye was taking advantage of the situation. He wasn¡¯t too bothered about it and put down the paperwork after saying that. But Wen Renye couldn¡¯t resist pulling out another piece of paperwork and said candidly, ¡°Actually, I was going to use this.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu took a sip of tea, his eyes swept over the words ¡°married couple¡± on it, and he almost spat out his tea. He choked followed by a few light coughs. He felt his ears inexplicably burn a little, having lived in vain for so many years, he was actually a little annoyed by these two words.


    He slowly breathed in and looked down, reaching out his fingers he pushed the paperwork away, what remains unseen is deemed to be clean3.


    Wen Renye, hearing him cough, immediately became more worried. Seeing that Jiang Zheliu seemed fine, he finally noticed that his ears had become slightly red. He stared for a moment, his purple eyes couldn¡¯t help fixating on them, he said slowly: ¡°You¡­..¡±


    He gradually leaned closer, the devilish energy in his body was fluctuating back and forth, the impact of this moment accumulated into a single restless breath. Jiang Zheliu was encircled by one of his hands and pressed against the wall of the carriage, whilst he gently touched his earlobe.


    This area should not be touched, it was a little too sensitive.

 CH 16

    This was the first time that Jiang Zheliu had travelled like a mortal.


    They travelled from the icy and snowy Zhongnan Mountain, through the verdant and lush Mountain Ranges, before entering the major cities of the Mortal Realm, going past the world¡¯s largest brothel full waving flirtatious ladies, and finally passing by the misty patchwork of waterways.


    Although Wen Renye was young, he believed that Jiang Zheliu could not take care of himself. All along the way, he was more meticulous than anything.


    But the truth was, Jiang Zheliu really didn¡¯t know how to take care of himself. He was conversant on all things past and present. He was also once an unparalleled swordsman across all the Realms. But now, he was hardly in the state pick up a hoe to weed the garden, and he was totally ignorant of the climate and the needs for each type of flower. He was always forgetting about the temperature outside due to his own cool body temperature.


    In fact, this person didn¡¯t understand temperature in the slightest. Every time Wen Renye held his hand, Jiang Zheliu felt cold which made Wen Renye unbelievably annoyed. However, this person was as flimsy as a sheet of paper so he could neither be beaten nor scolded, as if in the next moment he would disperse into the air.


    But Jiang Zheliu was indeed very light. In Wen Renye¡¯s opinion£¬he was so light that he almost didn¡¯t weigh anything at all. His waist was narrow and thin. It showed even through the thick plush cloak, it would be very easy to just encircle an arm around it.


    But this was all in his estimation. He had not had the chance to encircle him with one hand.


    Dan Xin Monastery was in the middle of Chibi Lake. Surrounded by small bridges made of ancient decaying planks of wood. It looked extremely old as if it wouldn¡¯t be able to support the weight of a person walking upon it. There were not any boats docked anywhere, it was just a lake full of carp who were leaping around creating bubbles.


    In the middle of the lake, there was an island and upon it sat Dan Xin Monastery.


    Although Jiang Zheliu had met Yu Jinnian before, he had never set foot in Dan Xin Monastery. He fixed his snow cloak and looked across the lake, sighing inexplicably, ¡°The residence of a Spiritual Physician is just exquisite, surrounded by beautiful mountains and clear waters.¡±


    A certain devil who grew up in the barren hills and wild rivers felt slightly offended: ¡°¡­¡­Is it.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t dwell on the matter. He was just about to walk onto the bridge when he was pulled back by Wen Renye.


    The Devil Lord looked at him with a stern face. Encircling an arm around his waist, he secretly accomplished what he¡¯d been thinking about the whole trip. He looked down and said, ¡°This bridge looks like it¡¯s going to break, I¡¯ll carry you.¡±


    Without waiting for Jiang Zheliu to reply. Wen Renye had tightened his grip on the other¡¯s waist, picked him up and took him across the lake.


    Jiang Zheliu pushed open the door and was greeted by a medicine grinding counter. There were two young Daoist children sitting on praying mats, their arms supporting their horsetail whisk whilst they directed a row of paper dolls to grind the medicine. One of the Daoist children wearing grey-blue Daoist robes was the first to see Jiang Zheliu. His eyes shone brightly, he elbowed the one next to him and whispered, ¡°Look, it¡¯s a beauty!¡±


    The Daoist girl wearing the grey and pink Daoist robes next to him opened her sleepy eyes and instantly looked refreshed, tears of excitement were rolling down her face. She was drooling from the corners of her mouth. As she raised her hand to wipe off the drool, she blinked and asked, ¡°Who has gongzi come to seek?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was not exhibiting the slightest bit of spiritual energy on his body, so the two Daoist children thought he was simply a mortal and addressed him as gongzi.


    But very quickly, they realised the address of ¡°gongzi¡± was incorrect. From behind Jiang Zheliu, a devil in black robes and purple eyes, covered in a devilish energy was following behind him silently. He was giving off an aura of ¡°I am vicious, don¡¯t mess with me¡±, as if he was going to become the Great Devil written in the books in the Cultivation World that would destroy the whole world in the next moment.


    The Taoist girl¡¯s words were stuck in her throat for a moment, before she quietly said to the boy beside her, ¡°¡­¡­ Urghh¡­ are they here, here for revenge?¡±


    The Daoist boy pondered for a moment and said honestly, ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever seen a Great Devil using a mortal beauty as a cultivation furnace?¡±


    ¡°What a shame, it¡¯s just a pity that the little gongzi will be completely spoiled.¡±


    The girl nodded her head quickly in agreement, ¡°They must be here for the Hehuan love potion. Let¡¯s say that our Monastery Master is not home. He¡¯s not going to kill us is he?¡±


    The two children seemed to be talking quickly and stealthily but with Wen Renye¡¯s hearing, there was nothing that they could hide from him. He silently looked at Jiang Zheliu and then at himself, wondering for a long while what was so wrong with him.


    And given Jiang Zheliu¡¯s age and status, he was actually being called ¡°little gongzi¡± ¡­¡­ pffff, it must be extraordinary to have been born looking so tender and elegant.


    On the contrary, Jiang Zheliu, who had lost all his cultivation, did not hear what the two children were talking about so he asked, ¡°I have come to pay my respects to Monastery Master Yu Jinnian, could the two of you let him know?¡±


    The two Daoist children, hearing that, felt a chill down their spines. Seeing his head of snow-white hair they suddenly understood who he really was, their hearts skipped a beat, they hastily got up and saluted, ¡°Please forgive us, Jiang, Jiang Xianzun ¡­¡­ our Monastery Master is in ¡­¡­¡±


    Before the children could finish speaking, another male voice cut in across the room.


    ¡°Were you really in a good mood and let me go back then? I remember you were injured so you didn¡¯t bother with me.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu walked past the grinding medicine counter, reached out and lifted the bamboo curtain to see a man in light green daoist robes sitting in front of a medicine stove. But this daoist robe made him look rather scandalous. The front was gaping open showing a small section of his snow-white chest and his nipples were faintly visible. He really didn¡¯t look too proper.


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t think anything of it, but the little devil next to him was furious and lowered his head to get close to the other¡¯s ear and said, ¡°Vulgar and indecent, it¡¯ll ruin your eyes, don¡¯t look.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu glanced over at him and said, ¡°Even if he is naked, he is just a skeleton with flesh and blood in my eyes, so what is there to fear?¡±


    Jiang Xianzun, self-assuredly approached with a calm face ¡ª Then he saw that behind the other, the shelves were full of d*ldos, aphrodisiac elixirs and dual cultivation manuals¡­.


    Jiang Zheliu looked puzzled for a long time before asking, ¡°You ¡­¡­¡±


    Yu Jinnian was just sticking a red label on a bottle of aphrodisiac elixir, when he tilted his head and looked at him, and said logically, ¡°Each to their own. Jiang Qianbei, please take a seat.¡±


    Except that the floor was full of medicine pots, it would have been nice to have somewhere to sit, but there wasn¡¯t even an empty spot in sight.


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him for a long time, confirming something from his expressions and finally said, ¡°It seems that the whole Cultivation World already knows what happened.¡±


    Yu Jinnian finished sticking on the red label, propped up his chin with his hand and looked the other up and down as he said, ¡°If it really were none of your business, Qianbei would not have taken so long to come to me. The more you truly let go, the less you will care. But Jiang Qianbei¡¯s worries are already infused into your bones, it has already become your habit.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu frowned and said, ¡°You talk too much.¡±


    Yu Jinnian had always had a lot to say. As he twirled the elixir bottle in his hand, and continued, ¡°Thank you for the compliment and Jiang Qianbei is as graceful as ever. I originally thought that you wouldn¡¯t come, after all just as you said, there is no better place for you to return to than under the ice and snow of the Zhongnan Mountain ¡­¡­¡±


    His words were not unfounded; he had seen Jiang ZheLiu injured when he went digging for ginseng as a child¡­¡­ In a way, he knew him better than both Zhu Wuxin and Jin Yujie. Because unlike the others, he knew in his heart that Jiang Zheliu was not really indestructible.


    At that time, Zhu Wenyuan had not yet passed away and Jiang Zheliu was still the da-shixiong of the Ling Xiao Sect, and was supposed to take his turn to guard the Ling Xiao Sect¡¯s formation in accordance with the sect rules. At that time, Jiang Zheliu must have just returned from his mission. He looked calm and did not say a word, so no one knew that he was injured.


    Only Yu Jinnian knew. He watched as Jiang Zheliu lowered his head to undo the gauze to reveal a deep wound which was spilling out with a devilish energy. The wound almost penetrated through his arm. Accompanying the stinging sensation of the devilish energy was a faint smell of blood that cut through the air slowly making Yu Jinnian vaguely understand the reason why he¡¯d been able to leave the Ling Xiao Sect that day.


    Over time, he came to detest those inflated flattery praises about Jiang Zheliu being indestructible and omnipotent.


    The furnace fire continued to burn. The medicinal pills inside exploded with a crackling sound.


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him with an indifferent gaze and calmly said, ¡°The ice and snow of Zhongnan Mountain is too cold, perhaps I will, in the future, prefer to be somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°What a joke.¡± Yu Jinnian curled his lip, completely unconvinced that he could possibly have a second location in mind, but the fact that the other was willing to come over meant that he was at least considering getting treatment. He himself was a self-proclaimed benevolent healer so naturally he was still quite happy.


    Whilst he rambled on about the past, Yu Jinnian raised his hand to Jiang Zheliu¡¯s wrist and sent in a trace of dark green energy, using this method to slowly permeate the energy through the other¡¯s body.


    Yu Jinnian stood up and picked out a bottle from the other side of the medicine rack, he took many bottles down and put them in front of Jiang Zheliu, and said, ¡°Take this first.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Take this first?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Yu Jinnian said£¬¡°It¡¯ll reduce the pain.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu finally felt that the trip had not been in vain and nodded happily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask such things as whether he can be cured or not, you should ask how long we can prolong his life. His previous level of cultivation reached a certain realm, as long as he maintains himself well, with a breath of energy he may hang on for another few decades. I noticed that you have used the Immortal Jade Cultivation Pill, you can continue to use it¡­¡­ There¡¯s something else, your eyes¡­¡­¡±


    Yu Jinnian slowly turned around and looked into his dark, cold eyes and said, ¡°Can you feel it yourself?¡±


    He was so quick to speak that Jiang Zheliu wasn¡¯t able to stop him even if he wanted to, so he could only nod gently, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Yu Jinnian was leaning against the medicine rack, with a horsetail whisk in his hand when he grabbed the other¡¯s arm and looked at him for a while, then he extended out two fingers and said, ¡°How many can you see?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was silent for a moment and said slowly, ¡°Two.¡±


    ¡°Can you see it clearly?¡±


    ¡°I guessed.¡±


    Yu Jinnian£º¡°¡­¡­This is grave, can you take this more seriously!¡±

 CH 17

    Yu Jinnian felt as if he was meeting Jiang Zheliu again for the first time.


    When Jiang Zheliu still had his eminent status, he would never have even cracked a light-hearted joke. Instead, he was as renowned for his icy reticence as he was for his strength. So even though Yu Jinnian was telling him to take things more seriously, the former was in reality quite relieved.


    It was already a pleasant surprise that his heart had not been broken by that bunch of people.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s injuries were too serious to be completely cured. It was just as Wen Renye had seen every time he had sent some devil energy into the former¡¯s body to investigate. Jiang Zheliu¡¯s meridians were broken and tangled together, like a tangled ball of wool. Under these circumstances, it¡¯s perfectly normal that health issues were rampant all over his body. Besides at the moment, his vision was only slightly impaired.


    When Yu Jinnian said these words, Jiang Zheliu did not react much, his pair of dark, cold eyes looked over quietly, not reflecting the slightest change in emotion. But Wen Renye, who was also listening, looked not only very serious but a little annoyed. As he listened, he¡¯d also glance over at Jiang Zheliu, and finally his gaze stopped, and fixated on the other¡¯s eyes, not budging from there one bit.


    Yu Jinnian said£º¡°Jiang Xianzun, if you don¡¯t want to go blind you should stay here for a while. An incurable disease like yours means I have to prepare a lot of medicines. Recently I just finished writing a Book of Medicinal Recipes. I¡¯ll ask the Ginseng children to cook for you. As for the treatment fee¡­¡­in order to repay Qianbei¡¯s previous kindness, of course this junior would never ask anything in return. I hope this opportunity will also allow me to prove my medical expertise and reach great new heights.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu nodded. He knew that Yu Jinnian had already encountered dubious and hard-to-treat cases. Whether he was able to cure him or not was still a benefit to Yu Jinnian so he asked: ¡°The Ginseng children¡­They¡¯re not tall enough to even reach the stove.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Yu Jinnian said, ¡°Jiang Qianbei will be so impressed with their cooking skills that you¡¯ll want to stay here long-term.¡±


    He spoke with much certainty. But Jiang Zheliu had fasted for many years that he couldn¡¯t even remember what food tasted like, so he wasn¡¯t totally convinced by Yu Jinnian.


    After that, this Divine Sage of Medicine continued to blabber on for another shichen. He explained brimming with passion the treatment plan, including the medicinal pills and all the methods under the sun that he was planning on using. Jiang Zheliu was tired from listening to him, he propped himself up with a hand under his chin feeling sleepy and casually agreed with the other a few times. But when he occasionally looked up, he saw Wen Renye listening intently with bright eyes, nodding with much seriousness.


    ¡­¡­how focused was he?


    The little devil lord¡¯s purple eyes often varied in shades of colour depending of the light and on his mood£¬Jiang Zheliu looked at him at this moment and thought to himself that this pair of Devil eyes were truly beautiful, a serene purple that reflected the light, so bright that they seemed like two precious sparkling gems, bringing with it a feeling of absolute concentration.


    Jiang Zheliu continued to watch him for a while, then finally he gently tugged on Wen Renye¡¯s sleeves. When he saw Wen Renye turn to look at him, he asked£º¡°Do you understand?¡±


    Wen Renye said firmly: ¡°Although he is explaining it in quite a complicated way, I got it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s he trying to say then?¡±


    ¡°What he means is¡± Wen Renye said solemnly, ¡°Even if you¡¯re a bubble as long as we put a protection layer around you, you won¡¯t pop.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu£º¡°¡­¡­You¡¯re so great at metaphors.¡±


    Wen Renye frowned and said: ¡°I am the Devil Lord.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ You are¡­¡­ah?¡± Yu Jinnian replied very slowly and took some time to recover his senses, as he stared blankly.


    He reflected for a while before slowly turning to look at Jiang Zheliu, saying with much sincerity: ¡°¡­¡­Qianbei is already in this state but is still willing to sacrifice himself to stabilise the Devil Realm, this kind of great selfless act of love is really inspirational.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was looking at Wen Renye at this moment with a somewhat astonished expression but at the same time he didn¡¯t look so astonished. He thought about it and then replied£º¡°Yes¡­¡­that does sound like me.¡±


    Wen Renye¡¯s achievements even surpassed his father¡¯s back then. The change in leadership, the succession of the next generation, those things were not particularly surprising, what was surprising was¡­


    ¡°Devil Lord¡± He changed his way of addressing him in good faith. Raising an eyebrow, he said£¬¡°The Devil Lord has shown a great selfless act of love towards me, making Jiang Zheliu feel truly humbled.¡±


    Wen Renye was fixated on the other¡¯s pitch-black eyes, he leaned forward towards him. There was a faint aura of pine and cypress, which was mixed in with his devilish energy. It was spilling over, almost surrounding Jiang Zheliu.


    The little devil¡¯s breath was soothing with a hint of apprehension, his thin lips were pursed tightly together. He maintained a very precisely calculated distance from Jiang Zheliu, that was enough for the latter to not avoid him. He moved in closer before whispering, ¡°It¡¯s not a great selfless act of love, it¡¯s that I want to hold on to you and take care of you.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him whilst asking£º¡°And then?¡±


    Wen Renye swallowed and then said somewhat tensely, ¡°¡­¡­ Then take you by force back to the Devil Realm.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu wanted to laugh a little, but held back and reached out to poke the little devil¡¯s head and said, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Wen Renye didn¡¯t expect him to agree and was stunned for a moment. As he got poked in the forehead by the other, he grabbed the other¡¯s cold, slender fingers in his hand and added, ¡°¡­¡­ I¡¯m the Devil Lord. I will kill without blinking, eat people without salt, so can¡¯t you be a little scared of me.¡±


    There were forbidden immortal robes as well as Daoist robes, there were also rare and precious fur cloaks and overcoats, as well as some brightly-coloured robes, daoist robes with pearls and precious gems as buttons, and countless other types and styles.


    That day he¡¯d come over to do a routine pulse diagnosis1, he watched as the little deer who served upon Jiang Qianbei opened the wardrobe and then carry over a forbidden black velvet cloak that was even too expensive to mention in the Cultivation World, whilst casually saying, ¡°Let me see today¡¯s amazing Liuliu ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­ The room was filled with a decaying spiritual jade energy everywhere.


    Jiang Zheliu was very calmly accepting of the circumstances. It wasn¡¯t the first time that Wen Renye had built a sort of cocoon around him, nor was it very difficult to accept that Ah-Chu has a little fetish of dressing him up. It¡¯s all good, it¡¯s all okay, it¡¯s all fine. He had long become complacent, with a kind of calmness that meant even if he were to die tomorrow he would not care.


    Chang Qian and Ah-Chu both followed him there but the two of them rode in the second carriage. As soon as Chang Qian arrived, he had become fascinated by the Ginseng children¡¯s cooking and had been stealing tips from them in the kitchen.


    Unlike him, Ah-Chu loved to stick to Jiang Zheliu, nuzzling against him. He¡¯d always try to get a whiff of that delicious scent on his body and then go off and do some other things. But it didn¡¯t seem one bit like he was actually interested in cultivation, instead the little deer had turned sucking up to him into almost a full-time job.


    Ah-Chu sat by the window sorting out the medicines according to the physician¡¯s instructions. He collected many bottles and jars of elixirs together, wrapping them in paper and dividing them into daily portions for each meal. Then he reached out to touch the edge of the bowl of medicine, feeling that it was the right temperature, he hopped over to Jiang Zheliu to give him the bowl.


    Although his eyesight was not as good as it used to be, Jiang Zheliu still enjoyed reading books, especially the racy romance books here in the Monastery, it seemed he hadn¡¯t lost his ultimate pleasure.


    Jiang Zheliu took the medicinal meal and observed the portion size. He thought to himself those two ginseng children were definitely trying to fatten him up, how come each meal became bigger than the next.


    But they did cook very well. Jiang Zheliu ate slowly and politely whilst listening to Ah-Chu muttering and counting the days, finally he seemed to have thought of something, he blinked, ¡°Shenxian gege, isn¡¯t it time for you to take a medicinal bath today.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu stopped eating and looked up at him, his slender snow-white eyelashes twitching gently.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Yu Jinnian¡¯s medicinal pool had many spiritual plants surrounding it. They were all nocturnal spiritual plants that did not need sunlight and could still bloom.


    The pool was made from white jade, the water temperature was adjusted but it was still a little hot.


    Just as Jiang Zheliu felt sleepy, a pair of hands took hold of him. This little devil lord stayed by his side, quietly reminding him not to fall asleep or the medicine would not be as effective.


    The water rippled in every texture directions and the textures slowly dispersed. There were two lit lamps beside the medicinal pool, the lampshades had been decorated with flowers and vines.


    ¡°¡­¡­ The second visit from the Devil Realm?¡± Jiang Zheliu was barely able to focus and tried to recall from his memory the words of the other, ¡°Was that little kid you?¡±


    Wen Renye didn¡¯t expect that when Jiang Zheliu was talking about back then, he would actually think that he was still a child: ¡°I was already outstanding back then.¡±


    Even now, in front of Jiang Zheliu, he¡¯d sometimes displayed a slight hint of youthful exuberance.


    Jiang Zheliu thought about it for a long while before remembering that he had actually stepped in to end his provocation, and casually said, ¡°¡­¡­ I really fought with you? If I had been in a bad mood that day, you would have been dead.¡±


    Wen Renye held his hand, staring at the long, snow-white, wet hair on his shoulder, and whispered, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have, that was a good opportunity to reconcile with the Devil Realm, so you would never have ruined it.¡±


    The other¡¯s breathing was a little sharp, full of urgency and confusion in his mind.


    His hand covered Jiang Zheliu¡¯s eyes, feeling a pair of snow-white, slender eyelashes gently blinking against his hand, making his palm tickle and burn a little. Wen Renye¡¯s other hand held onto the other¡¯s shoulder, only separated from his skin by a thin, wet shirt.


    The body beneath his palm was so thin and fragile that one could trace the thickness of the other¡¯s of bones. But Wen Renye did not dare to move. He felt so nervous he wanted to die, he was more nervous saying what he wanted to say to him than how he had felt heading into the Xuan Tongju Gate to kill his enemy. He was having trouble finding his voice, his voice was submerged in a deep pit. He wanted to display all his affections, let him know all of his deepest darkest thoughts.


    But what kind of person was Jiang Zheliu? He sensed the change in atmosphere and stayed silent for a moment, not rushing him, but then asked softly, ¡°¡­¡­ can¡¯t I look at you?¡±


    The words made this Devil Lord who was petrified in front of his first love find his way back to the subject at hand and leaned close to the other¡¯s ear to explain, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare say anything if you were looking at me.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s ears were warmed a little by his breath, or perhaps it was not rendered by the other¡¯s breath, but perhaps his ears were just burning themselves.


    ¡°I¡¯m not holding a grudge.¡± Wen Renye said, ¡°Actually, I am ¡­¡­¡±


    Again his words paused, as if those following words were the critical juncture. In his heart, Wen Renye was cursing himself for being so useless, but when he saw this person in front of him, he really was utterly useless, his mind was just completely blank.


    After a short while, Jiang Zheliu felt a very soft touch land on his brow, a little ill-at-ease, a light kiss that took a lot of courage like a dragonfly that touches the water lightly. Wen Renye¡¯s hand that was covering his eyes slowly moved away, but his breath became scalding hot.


    Jiang Zheliu heard Wen Renye¡¯s voice, his deep but gentle voice came forth.


    ¡°Do¡­¡­do you understand now?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu slowly opened his eyes and saw the other¡¯s eyes gazing at him ¨C a serene glowing purple, wholly devoted and attached, even if he didn¡¯t say so, he had already offered up his heart.

 CH 18

    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t know how he should respond.


    This wonderful person had come into his life too late.


    It seemed at this point, however he responded, he knew that the other would not easily let him go. The state he was in now meant that he really didn¡¯t have anything worth reciprocating.


    He stretched out his hand to cover the other¡¯s hand. The palm of his hand and his fingertips were slightly wet, the water droplets slowly dripping off.


    ¡°I understand.¡± Jiang Zheliu said ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡­¡­I haven¡¯t done anything to deserve you. I don¡¯t know what to do if you keep treating me like this.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean you haven¡¯t done anything to deserve me.¡± Wen Renye stared at him£¬¡°I don¡¯t treat you well because I believe that you are strong and that it can benefit me in some way, nor is it because you have many admirers because you are so gracious and powerful£¬it¡¯s just that¡­¡­I¡¯ve only thought of you this whole time.¡±


    ¡°Prestige, fame and fortune have nothing to do with this. Don¡¯t think that just because everyone else wants something from you that I¡¯m also like that.¡±


    ¡°I just want to do as I wish, and I¡¯m willing to do so. What do you have to be ashamed of? Haven¡¯t you spent your entire life bending over backwards for those who should actually be ashamed of themselves?¡±


    Wen Renye had always been quite critical of that deathbed promise, which in his opinion was less like valuing Jiang Zheliu and more like tying him down with morals and favours.


    But Jiang Zheliu took this promise very seriously, because Zhu Wenyuan had raised him, fed him, and given him a place to call home, so he gave his long life back to the Ling Xiao Sect.


    ¡°Even if you¡¯re ugly in the future, I¡¯ll still treat you the same.¡± Wen Renye actually didn¡¯t want to say such things, in his love filtered eyes, no matter how Jiang Zheliu looked, for him the other would still be a beauty, ¡°Even if you really were a bubble that would break at the first touch, I would still want to stay by your side.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu had in fact heard such words quite often. From the day that he began cultivating to now, there was no shortage of people who fawned over him, making vows as evidence, vowing to be completely devoted to only him, but he had never believed any of them.


    But at this point in time, he didn¡¯t have the strength to say ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°I sometimes feel as if you¡¯ll be gone in the blink of an eye and will disperse like a light puff of smoke.¡± Wen Renye found his emotions getting a little out of control and tried to steady his voice, ¡°Jiang Zheliu, did you just come to the Mortal Realm to complete your mission? When it¡¯s all over, you¡¯ll have no qualms about leaving.¡±


    ¡°I ¡­¡­¡± Jiang Zheliu spoke with a slight pause, ¡°How long I am able to keep living is no longer up to me. Even if I want to live a long life now, my time is limited, the world runs counter to reason.¡±


    Once his hair was thoroughly dry, the fragile, sickly beauty was buried in his shoulder as if he was too sleepy to open his eyes, unable to fight even if Wen Renye were to request any more unreasonable demands. He had already heard so many similar stories from the little deer Ah-Chu before ¨C like the king who had hung his concubine on the city wall for three years asking her to admit to her mistakes, or the respected Peerless Immortal who had been bullied into bed by his three demonic disciples1 ¡­¡­ These stories were all very thrilling.


    The Devil Lord was still rather inexperienced and was still a novice at taking things by force. He embraced Jiang Zheliu, feeling that Jiang Zheliu felt particularly light, and he looked down at him and whispered: ¡°Are you asleep? I¡¯ll take you back to your room to rest.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­hmm.¡±


    ¡°You can lean on me and rest a little.¡±


    The other side leaned closer as instructed and was particularly obedient.


    Wen Renye looked at him for a moment, his heart, which had originally settled down, began to thump again. He lowered his head and kissed the other¡¯s forehead once more, in a light, quick movement, as if he were an insecure thief, walking so straight that he wouldn¡¯t even be able to turn a corner.


    Although Wang Wenyuan, the Pavilion Lord of the Tianji Pavilion had not held the position for long. He was extremely skilled in divination and deduction, he was a prophet of sorts who always spoke of omens and unfulfilled prophecies.


    Yu Jinnian didn¡¯t even bother to look up and said lazily, ¡°Come on, what kind of friendship do you and I have? Is it really worthwhile for Pavilion Lord Wang to make this trip? Or are you missing an arm and legs and even your heart has blackened. You¡¯re dragging yourself on your last breath to me to find a cure?¡±


    Wang Wenyuan was not angry in the slightest, but patted his fan against his hand whilst he took a seat opposite Yu Jinnian, looking all around the place and then casually said, ¡°Divine Sage of Medicine would really dare to scold anyone, I am afraid that in your eyes, there are not many people in this world who are innocent and righteous¡­¡­ However I am not seeking any medical assistance at this time. I am in need of something else.¡±


    Yu Jinnian had quite an unusual feeling of foreboding as he raised his eyes to look at the smiling fake prophet, ¡°One doesn¡¯t visit a temple without a cause, go ahead and say it.¡±


    ¡°Xianyou Yu has not been out for a long time, and must not be well informed about recent events.¡± Wang Wenyuan changed the form of addressing the other and said with a smile, ¡°Did you know that Jiang Xianzun is living in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain?¡±


    What kind of old news is this? Yu Yunnian narrowed his eyes but did not speak.


    If Wen Renye did not agree, they would use this opportunity to start a war ¡­¡­ Lately, the Devil Realm had been fighting through the third Xuan Tongju Gate, which contained countless treasures, so it was also not unusual for others to covet this. If Wen Renye were to submit, it would of course be more beneficial than harmful. These plans had indeed been made with much thought and precision. Only the Devil Realm has always been outstanding in warfare¡­¡­ These people are clearly deluded.


    Eighty percent of it was for profit, and the remaining twenty percent was probably for the nasty lustfulness of Jin Yujie and Lie Zhen, themselves.


    Although Yu Jinnian didn¡¯t often go out, he could still see through those people clearly. He looked at Wang Wenyuan with a smirk and said, ¡°Why are you telling me all this? You scum and immoral degenerates can just go on plotting together, but don¡¯t come here and dirty my place.¡±


    Wang Wenyuan unfolded his fan, he was still not angry, and instead still had a smile on his face, ¡°I have been calculating this day for a long time, Xianyou Yu¡¯s home is a variable and will take a turn for the better, so I have come to pay a special visit.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re just visiting?¡± Yu Jinnian stared at him.


    ¡°There is another matter that I wish to ask of the Divine Sage of Medicine.¡± Wang Wenyuan said, ¡°I want to buy your Five Power Passion Pill.¡±


    The pill is not a poison, but it can make people lose their senses and bring out the deepest love in their hearts, but it is also not an aphrodisiac. It is merely used as an emotional stimulant.


    Yu Jinnian smacked the table: ¡°Pavilion Lord Wang, you have to tell me what this is about. Although I can¡¯t be counted as a particularly righteous person, I will absolutely not participate in anything that is immoral.¡±


    Wang Wenyuan looked at him for a while and finally decided that this Divine Sage of Medicine was too far from the centre of authority and power to be able to affect his plans, ¡°Jin Yujie and Lie Zhen, are both just using this situation as they are worried about their close friend, but both of them are too obedient when it comes to Jiang Zheliu. If Xianzun were to stand up and block the war by clarifying his relationship with Wen Renye, those two in front of that person¡¯s face would be the first to be merciful.¡±


    ¡°Then what does Pavilion Lord Wang mean to do?¡±


    He could see what kind of person this person was, but he still held back his anger and asked with a smile on his face, ¡°How do you know that Zhu Wuxin won¡¯t help the enemy?¡±


    ¡°I have never made a mistake in my calculations of others. Zhu Wuxin is someone who once his mind is finally clear will not allow anyone to get his hands on his shixiong. Whether it is Wen Renye, or Jin Yujie or even Lie Zhen, he will use all means to snatch Jiang Zheliu back, both physically and mentally. Even with those who he is working with ¡­¡­ Zhu Wuxin is a paranoid madman, it¡¯s just that he¡¯s hidden it well. ¡±


    You look like a lunatic to me too. Yu Jinnian cursed inwardly.


    He rubbed his hands together and handed Wang Wenyuan the Five Power Passion Pill and a piece of paper listed with a bunch of medicines, saying, ¡°That b*stard Zhu Wuxin, I¡¯ve long disapproved of him. I naturally applaud Xianyou Wang for making a play ¡­¡­ Although Lan Re Temple is one of the Four great Immortal Sects, it has never partaken in matters regarding the sects. As for the position of the Head of the Immortal Sects, I wish you success in your endeavours.¡±


    Wang Wenyuan took the pill bottle and the piece of paper knowing that the paper contained the items that were needed to exchange for this medicine. He quickly scanned it, ¡°Tianji Pavilion will deliver the medicinal herbs here, Xianyou Yu ¡­¡­¡±


    He spoke with a slight pause, ¡°Let your immortal friends know in advance, that no matter which one of them is injured in the internal fighting and wishes to come here, you cannot not help them, after this matter is dealt with I will personally thank you again.¡±


    Yu Jinnian was already numb to his dark evil heart, raising his hand and waving it, impatiently saying, ¡°Get lost.¡±


    Wang Wenyuan got what he wanted and didn¡¯t mind the other¡¯s attitude, so he headed back to the canoe and left Monastery.


    When the canoe drifted away, Yu Jinnian dusted off his clothes and extinguished the poisonous smoke from Cylindrical Heart Powder that was floating in the medicine stove. Then he saw the little taoist boy, who was only the height of his stomach watching him with a serious face at the bamboo curtain: ¡°Even if Monastery Master is invulnerable to all poisons, he shouldn¡¯t burn such poisonous smoke in the presence of guests. The beauty ¡­¡­ Jiang Qianbei is still living here. that¡¯s so dangerous!¡±


    Yu Jinnian changed his robe as he walked across Dan Xin Monastery, he lazily said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m not trying to target him¡­¡­ Actually, I happen to have an interesting story to share with Jiang Xianzun.¡±


    ¡°What is it, I want to hear it too ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Well ¡­¡­,¡± Yu Jinnian thought for a moment, ¡°This story, it¡¯s called ¨C a bed of snakes and rats3.¡±

 CH 19

    When Yu Jinnian arrived, Jiang Zheliu was drinking his medicine.


    The amount of medicine he drank was more than how much he ate but over the last few days, the cramps in his body really did subside. His gradually fading vision had also slightly improved, superficially it seemed that his progress wasn¡¯t too bad.


    Yu Jinnian had estimated if Jiang Zheliu stayed there for another ten or twenty years to receive treatment, it would still not be possible to recover his cultivation but he¡¯d definitely be able to extend his lifespan. The other had reached a certain realm in his cultivation, it was just that his body could no longer withstand any more injuries, how much longer he could stay alive, was really not something that Yu Jinnian could put a number on.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s medicine had always been extremely bitter but lately every time he drank his medicine, the little devil would feed him a candied fruit, which made his sensitivity to the bitterness increase exponentially. Now when he drank his medicine, it would make him frown slightly.


    Jiang Zheliu put down the medicine bowl and was fed a candy by Wen Renye. It was simply too sweet to bear. He bit half but felt that it was too sweet so he tried to retreat backwards to get away from it but then he saw that Wen Renye had put the other half in his mouth and eaten the other half happily, the action was so natural and fluid as if he had been plotting it for a while.


    ¡­¡­The younger generation were really something.


    Jiang Zheliu considered himself an elderly person, to be more precise ¨C one who had one foot in the grave and was running on borrowed time. Whilst he forced himself to swallow down the ecurant sweet, he saw the other¡¯s deep purple eyes focus on his lips.


    ¡°¡­¡­what is it, did you want to eat it?¡±


    The Devil Lord¡¯s deep gaze slowly moved down his body, he was like a doting cat that was trying to take in a deep breath of the other¡¯s scent, he finally said: ¡°I want to¡ª¡ª¡±


    He only managed to get three words out when he was cut off by the ¡°knock knock¡± at the door. Wen Renye turned to look at the door and saw it was Yu Jinnian. His face almost had ¡°You two are too sweet, it makes me jealous, so I¡¯m deliberating here to be the lightbulb¡± written upon it.


    However, Jiang Zheliu was calm as usual and just thought he¡¯d come to do a routine health check and he even made space for the other to sit.


    Yu Jinnian took a seat opposite Jiang Zheliu, he looked at the latter for a good moment brimming with smiles and then finally turned to take a look at the Devil Lord beside him£º¡°Hmmmm¡­¡­taking by force, acting disgracefully, oppressing others, first r*pe and then kill¡­¡­this all seems very likely.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu stared blankly for a moment, not understanding what he was talking about and then turned to look at Wen Renye: ¡°My good neighbour has such a good heart, he¡¯d never treat me that way.¡±


    This was actually the first time that Wen Renye had heard someone call him kind-hearted but these two words were actually a way to insult someone in the Devil Realm¡­¡­it was basically cursing a Devil.


    The Devil Lord was focused on this ¡°insult¡± but he didn¡¯t refute and instead just slowly nodded his head.


    Yu Jinnian said: ¡°It¡¯s nothing, even if he¡¯s considerate and gentle now, with infinite kindness, this will change very soon. I think the entire Cultivation World will soon believe you to be miserable and helpless and even pitiful.¡±


    Yu Jinnian finished the tea, then continued to narrate Wang Wenyuan¡¯s words adding a little oil and vinegar of his own, but omitted the portion about the Five Power Passion Pill and the plan for Zhu Wuxin. He knew that Zhu Wuxin was the son of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s shifu, so for Jiang Zheliu, he held a special place in his heart. He was afraid that Jiang Zheliu would be affected by his feeling of debt towards his shifu and be unintentionally lenient towards Zhu Wuxin.


    Jiang Zheliu listened patiently until the end and unhurriedly poured himself another cup of tea, he said£º¡°Things done incorrectly, will only make a mess.¡±


    Wen Renye on the other hand wasn¡¯t so calm and was furious on behalf of his beloved with his killing intent growing by the second: ¡°That bird and that shameful boy really don¡¯t understand your feelings. I think it¡¯ll be better to kill them now, the sooner the better.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu blew upon the top of his tea, he held the cup in his hands whilst thinking it over and then said: ¡°If Lie Zhen and Qing Lin work together. It¡¯s enough to stall you for a while.¡± Little devil, even if you have outstanding skill, with unyielding power, you are still one person and not unbeatable.¡±


    He paused for a moment and then continued£º¡°But I think that those two still haven¡¯t¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu could see through people clearly. He would associate himself with truly evil and wicked people, so after thinking it over for a long time, he felt that Jin Yujie and Lie Zhen at most just had a prejudice against the Devil race, but in fact, they should still be willing to listen to him.


    If the little deer Ah-Chu was there then he would definitely say that Jiang Zheliu had underestimated the power of secret love.


    Yu Jinnian continued his train of thought£¬and added: ¡°Wang Wenyuan has also thought about it like that, that¡¯s why he wants to collect more power and influence in order to capture the title of the Head of the Immortal Sects from Ling Xiao Sect, as well as take over the position from you.¡±


    But the fact that Wen Renye had been somewhat harmed in this matter meant that he would still have to get involved in the end.


    Jiang Zheliu glanced over at him quickly and said: ¡°Being taken by force is too vulgar, why don¡¯t we say we had familiarity at first sight, leading us to be close friends¡­¡­¡±


    He¡¯d barely finished his words, when Wen Renye grabbed ahold of his hand, his deep purple eyes completely focused on him. Wen Renye swallowed as if he had seen some sort of special opportunity that had arisen.


    ¡°Actually I don¡¯t mind being depicted as a cruel and ruthless great monster.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu£º¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°The best way to say it would be that it was love at first sight, and then I forced you into marriage.¡± Wen Renye said with much seriousness£¬¡°We get married and I take you as my Devil Queen and then¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­and then you defile me, abuse me, and ravage me?¡± Jiang Zheliu continued his train of thought in his usual calm manner.


    Wen Renye was knocked stupid for a moment by his words, caressing restlessly the other¡¯s hand, slowly kneeding into each of his fingers, he said in a low voice£º¡°Plus all of this good stuff?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him calmly, he reached out and gently rubbed the corner of the other¡¯s lips and said quietly: ¡°You¡¯re salivating.¡±


    Wen Renye£º¡°*hiccup*¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m kidding.¡± The great beauty retracted his own hand£¬¡°Lust and admiration for beauty is perfectly natural. But my health is deteriorating, you probably won¡¯t have this opportunity.¡±


    His lips which had just been touched by the other were burning hot, the other¡¯s hand was ice-cold and soft£¬the other¡¯s body was exuding a delicious odour from head to toe which made him want to embrace him. It was crisp and clear but not biting cold like the first snowflakes under the light of the moon.


    Wen Renye didn¡¯t feel regret at all but instead slowly massaged the other¡¯s hand£º¡°¡­¡­ I don¡¯t want to give up either.¡±


    Although the two of them were talking about the ¡°plotting¡± that was going on, neither of them were particularly worried. Because Yu Jinnian had much confidence in the battle skills of the Devil Realm. He thought that even if this situation hadn¡¯t arisen, the Devil Realm who had just conquered the third Xuan Tongju Gate probably already coveted the Cultivation World since these Devils had never really respected or cared of the four great Immortal sects, it had always been about Jiang Zheliu.


    It was even simpler for Jiang Zheliu, he thought that even though these people were working together now£¬due to their own differences, and the suspicions and jealousy towards each other they would eventually break apart. Even if they maintained some sort of peaceful front, but really decided to start a war with the Devil Realm, and target Wen Renye on this matter, he would definitely come and resolve this.


    Since now he really didn¡¯t have anything useful left to give, he could at least put to use the last smidgen of the prestige that he had painstakingly accumulated over the years.


    As the night grew darker, the tea on the table had already become cold.


    Yu Jinnian stood up and took his leave, he casually brushed the dust off his robes and said: ¡°It seems that only when Qianbei is alone, do I have the opportunity to have such a long chat with you.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu shook his head: ¡°It was I, who was too busy before.¡±


    ¡°Of course you were busy. Qianbei was not as relaxed before as you are now.¡± Yu Jinnian glanced at the sullen Wen Renye who was standing on the side, and deliberately said, ¡°You used to be as taut as your sword, ice-cold and sharp, that no one dare not touch.¡±


    He saw, as he had hoped, the expression on the Devil Lord¡¯s face getting worse and worse, with the air filling up with a strong smell of ¡°I don¡¯t understand all these old stories you two are speaking of¡± vinegar.


    Yu Jinnian paused for a moment, then laughed and said: ¡°Thinking back to the few times that we have met, I have never seen you so warm and inviting. If it was before, and each of the sects were plotting in private like this, I believe that you would have already quashed the situation entirely.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked down and took a sip of tea, then calming said: ¡°Now I can¡¯t even lift a sword.¡±


    Yu Jinnian knew that he had said enough and was afraid of pushing the big Devil next to him over the edge so he was thinking about leaving, but then he remembered something£¬and reached into the sky blue Qiankun bag that was hanging from his waist, after a long while he seemed to pull out what turned out to be a book.


    He laughed as he glanced over the title of the book and then he slid the book over to Jiang Zheliu.


    Jiang Zheliu thought that Yu Jinnian was just passing him another one of his private erotic novels, so he readily accepted. He¡¯d just swept over a glance over the book cover and read the title£¬when he heard Yu Jinnian remind him: ¡°You¡¯ve lost all your spiritual energy, you have a frail state of mind, don¡¯t forget to start practising from the first page.¡±


    After he was done talking, he turned and left. After a long while after he¡¯d gone, they heard his hearty laugh from afar..


    Jiang Zheliu had the book in his hand, he was staring blankly for a moment, when the little Devil grabbed his hand and leaned in closer to take a look at the book.


    ¡°It seems to need to be cultivated slowly.¡± Wen Renye wasn¡¯t sure why he was so nervous, ¡°Do you want to try it?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu glanced at the book, and then looked up at the Devil Lord in front of him, whose eyes were full of light, and mused, ¡°It¡¯s probably not a good idea? The method of divine interconnection has a characteristic of codependence.¡±


    That was common sense. Also because of this characteristic, this recovery method was almost only tried between married dao companions.


    Wen Renye said: ¡°Why not? Anyway I will never leave you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ Young and impetuous, you shouldn¡¯t make promises without thinking.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not just saying it casually.¡± The little devil said persistently, ¡°I mean it.¡±


    He saw that Jiang Zheliu did not answer, as if he was half considering it whilst also half accepting tacitly. Wen Renye could not help but hold the other¡¯s hand tightly again. He swallowed, and then carefully and tentatively said: ¡°Then do I have the opportunity, well, to defile you?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu: ¡°¡­¡­ Can you not say it like that?¡±

 CH 20

    It wasn¡¯t only Wen Renye, anyone who had ever thought of ¡°divinely interconnecting¡± with Jiang Zheliu, had probably also wandered towards the word ¡°defile¡±.


    There was a slight chill on his body, and his palms still felt ice-cold even when his hand was being held. His bones were also very slender, long and graceful, but his complexion was too pale, like the cold frost under the moonlight.


    Jiang Zheliu was actually a little hesitant.


    It was true that he had never even tried the method of divine interconnection but he understood that it had unusual implications. During the few moments of his contemplation, he felt the pair of claws holding his hands, loosening and tightening, tightening and loosening, full of anticipation and apprehension.


    ¡­¡­. His primordial spirit was now in a fragile state, if he was really to cultivate in this way with the little Devil Lord, he would inevitably require Wen Renye to take the lead, and he¡¯d need to bear everything passively¡­ He was completely unfamiliar and inexperienced.


    He pulled back his hand from Wen Renye¡¯s clutches, took out the book and then calmly opened to the first page. He carefully looked over it from top to bottom and then handed it to Wen Renye.


    He thought for a moment, then said: ¡°¡­¡­ If you want to try, we could try it. It¡¯s just that these types of techniques are very dependent on the compatibility of the two participants, so if the two participants are incompatible then, there¡¯s no point in putting too much effort into these techniques in the future.¡±


    Wen Renye finished looking at the first page of the book, his purple eyes shifted their gaze to stare at him intently, translating Jiang Zheliu¡¯s words to mean ¡°you only have one chance at this¡±.


    He took a deep breath, and said firmly, ¡°Then let¡¯s try it now.¡±


    ¡°Now¡­¡­urm¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu only managed to get two words out.


    Wen Renye had been exercising restraint the whole time, repressing, and refusing to let him see fully all of his devilish energy. But in an instant, all around him, in a slow rotation, it began to whirl, flowing around his entire body. An extremely thick and dense energy of the other¡¯s primordial spirit came to wrap him up, like a giant net, directly enveloping him inside.


    Wen Renye¡¯s body had a very light pine and cypress scent, it was even present during the infusion of his soul. This energy was soft and light, gradually dispersing and spreading, following the primordial spirit to bind around him, becoming more and more touching, and more and more intense.


    Jiang Zheliu stopped talking, the residual sound that was interrupted shattered in his throat, he subconsciously felt that if he spoke again ¡­¡­ he might make some unpleasant noises.


    But this was just the first step only, Wen Renye released his primordial spirit, and bound it to his fragile and damaged divine soul, as if he was embracing him.


    The little Devil Lord was sitting next to him, grasping his hand. But it didn¡¯t feel like it, not at all for his fragile and sensitive divine soul. Jiang Zheliu began to have rare feelings of losing control¡­¡­ he had no experience in this area, he has almost never lost control over all these years.


    Wen Renye¡¯s energy was getting denser and denser, expanding and contracting again and again, slowly surrounding him, allowing Jiang Zheliu to get used to this energy and even surrendering control little by little.


    It felt like a fist that had been clasped tightly being pried open by another and allowing the other to nervously hold his hand open.


    Jiang Zheliu felt that even his body had no strength.


    He breathed in slowly, in an attempt to adjust himself, to not to be so out of control, so passive, he didn¡¯t want to lose face in front of the youth before him.


    But it didn¡¯t help. Wen Renye looped his arm around him and gently brought Jiang Zheliu into his arms.


    His movements were soft and not at all forced. But this person¡¯s primordial spirit was like an inescapable wall that was closing in on all sides, in his mind it was embracing him ¡­¡­. brimming with desire and longing.


    This kind of bareness of the souls was more intense than the physical embrace, making it even more difficult to resist.


    Jiang Zheliu was really a little out of control.


    His divine soul had been affixed to the other, and it felt like in his mind, amongst the rubble of his ruined spirit, all he could see was the energy from Wen Renye. He could also feel the constant warmth from the other¡¯s body, even see the subtle features of his devil being, and all the details of his primordial spirit that were revealed but not revealed.


    What was even more impossible to avoid was the other¡¯s emotions, that strong and utterly devoted love, his long-hidden love and affection that he had hidden at the bottom of his heart, all of his duplicity, everything that he felt about himself and valued the most¡­¡­


    Jiang Zheliu could feel all of it.


    He felt like he was going to be slowly melted away by the other¡¯s primordial spirit.


    This was just the first step, but it was a little too much for him to bear. Jiang Zheliu was indifferent to everything because almost everything was within his expectations or anticipation, or within what he was able to accept. But this ¡­¡­ kind of out of control feeling ¡­¡­


    Jiang Zheliu closed his eyes and leaned on the other¡¯s shoulder, slowly and patiently exhaled a long breath that held some warmth, he whispered, ¡°Wen Renye¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    The little devil immediately responded by adjusting the position of holding him and whispered back, ¡°Uncomfortable?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was not the type of person who would rather die than lose face, he slowly said with a steady tone: ¡°¡­¡­ You are too close. I think I ¡­¡­ hmm ¡­¡­¡±


    This feeling of being suppressed and melted gradually receded, the other¡¯s primordial spirit seemed to really comply with the retreat of a certain distance, but the afterglow still hovered around him. The faint pine and cypress scent then came closer and pried open the rift in his divine soul.


    This was the reason that he could only let Wen Renye take the lead. Due to the current state of Jiang Zheliu, not to mention prying open his primordial spirit, even rubbing lightly against his primordial spirit was enough to melt him.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s soul was already full of holes, and his energy was very limited, so he didn¡¯t have a particularly severe feeling of refusal when he was opened up by the other. But he had an extremely strange feeling that every sensitive nerve endings in his body seemed to be sending him a message of invasion upon the other¡¯s entry.


    He grabbed Wen Renye collar, his finger bones were clenched so tightly that they were white against his skin, his palm was moist layered with a thin layer of cold sweat.


    This was just the first page, there were only two steps. One was to mutually adjust closely and the second was simply to merge for the first time.


    Wen Renye¡¯s presence was just too strong. Even if he was more careful and cautious, he revealed a seriously intimidating energy, and although this energy had been very considerately collected when he entered the other party¡¯s divine soul, his aggressiveness as a devil still made Jiang Zheliu a little uneasy.


    Jiang Zheliu was in his arms. His soul was tired and exhausted by the invasive energy which made him defenseless, little by little he handed over control to Wen Renye.


    The process was incredibly smooth.


    Wen Renye extended his arm, looping it around the other¡¯s back, and underneath the snow white hair of the other who was in his arms. The two fused together divine souls rubbed against each other and penetrated each other. Wen Renye could vaguely feel the other¡¯s breath, which was clear and cold like ice and snow, but very soft, so soft that it was not aggressive at all. Wen Renye thought he would have been able to see Jiang Zheliu¡¯s feelings on everything that had happened to him in the past, but the more he penetrated the more he found that the other had no feelings at all.


    Jiang Zheliu would just encounter an issue, solve it, encounter another problem, make a choice, never even exhibiting the slightest emotion.


    Only when the other relinquished complete control, could Wen Renye vaguely feel a heavy coolness, and a very deep sleepiness.


    Wen Renye seemed to understand his attitude somewhat, as if the other¡¯s days now were the best that he could ever have envisioned, the best possible ending to his long life.


    Their spirits continued to interconnect, ceaselessing circling and fitting together, and then fusing together to a deeper and deeper degree.


    Jiang Zheliu slightly loosened his grip on the other¡¯s collar, then tried pushed him away weakly, his voice was a little weak: ¡°¡­¡­ Get out.¡±


    This voice was too quiet, if Wen Renye had not always been paying attention to the other¡¯s movements, then ce would not have heard, he again hugged the other in his arms closer, and said: ¡°I¡¯m going to help you mend the fissure.¡±


    The method of divine interconnection was the kind of method that was not destructive and was mostly opened up voluntarily. The spirit of Jiang Zheliu, however, was almost littered with fissures like a spider¡¯s web, leaving him empty with a half-step Golden Immortal¡¯s primordial spirit realm, but without the corresponding abilities.


    That oppressive energy and force once again seemed to be taking over his mind. Jiang Zheliu felt that he could not stand it anymore, so he said: ¡°¡­¡­ you come out first, I can¡¯t take it any longer.¡±


    The little Devil Lord naturally obeyed, pulling out his primordial spirit, which had plunged extremely deep, wisp by wisp he collected it back into his own body.


    Jiang Zheliu completely collapsed into his arms. Wen Renye reached out to wipe the cold sweat from Jiang Zheliu¡¯s forehead and whispered, ¡°Was it painful?¡±


    ¡­¡­ Not painful, but the feeling of being out of control mixed with that ¡­¡­ kind of intrusion. It felt too strange and disturbing for him.


    Jiang Zheliu felt that even his body was weak, he pressed on We Renye¡¯s shoulder for a long while, and then finally said, ¡°¡­¡­ You went to far.¡±


    Wen Renye: ¡°¡­¡­ Ah?¡±


    ¡°You were about to poke through.¡± Jiang Zheliu reached out and rubbed his brow, ¡°My divine soul is originally thin.¡±


    He said calmly and frankly without a trace of impurity, but hearing this Wen Renye got completely fired up, full of strange thoughts in his mind. Listening to Jiang Zheliu soft tone, seemed to have hit a wrong nerve, he nervously swallowed, and said: ¡°I only entered as long as a cup of tea1¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was stunned for a moment and raised his eyes to look at him, ¡°That long?¡±


    The method of divine interconnection was something that was difficult to try for the first time, and some people may not be able to pry their divine souls apart for the first time, or even fit together, let alone melt for an entire cup of tea.


    It wasn¡¯t because it didn¡¯t fit, but because it seemed to be too much of a good fit that made Jiang Zheliu feel so uneasy.


    ¡°Is that long?¡± Wen Renye raised an eyebrow, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t made me come out, I could have stayed in there forever.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ Uh, that¡¯s not necessary.¡±


    The melding of the souls already required great effort, and if it had continued on, it would have be too inhuman. Only that Wen Renye was not actually human, and his demonic energy lingered all around, brimming with a foreign distinctive feature.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t feel disgusted by this, then it still seems to be useful.¡± The little devil reached out and hooked a strand of his snow-white hair, twirling the hair in his fingers whilst saying, ¡°So, from now on can I continue to abuse you ¡­¡­¡±


    He had changed the wording, but it made Jiang Zheliu question the education standards of the Devil Realm.


    Jiang Zheliu was already low on energy, and was too tired to talk at this moment. He was buried in Wen Renye¡¯s arms, his eyes closed whilst listening to him. His divine soul that had just been completely opened was still sensitive. He was sleepy as hell, but would still be affected by the slightest movement and sound, and was not able to fall asleep immediately.


    ¡°Zheliu?¡± Wen Renye called him lightly, ¡°Are you tired?¡±


    Of course he was tired. He¡¯d been hit with all those strong emotions. Je felt that his own meager and indifferent emotions were stained with the other¡¯s colourful thoughts.


    Wen Renye picked up Jiang Zheliu and carried him through the beaded curtain, all the way to the bed. The grand beauty in his arms was also very cooperative, wrapping his arms around his neck, leaning wholeheartedly into his arms.


    Wen Renye was about to put him down on the bed and let him rest, but he found that Jiang Zheliu had not let go of his hand, but instead grabbed his collar and brought him on to the bed.


    ¡­¡­ This seemed to be a bit of a side effect of the divine interconnection that ends in dependency.


    The little devil was pulled in by his beloved by the collar. He was utterly stupid, dumbfounded whilst looking down to see the other¡¯s slightly trembling eyelashes, and not knowing whether the other was asleep or not.


    Although Wen Renye was the great Devil Lord, he still thought of himself as having some ill intentions, as if he was insufficient. He looked at Jiang Zheliu who had sunk in between the soft pillows to sleep. The side of the face was particularly soft, even his usual air of coldness had disappeared without trace, like ¡­¡­ like he was waiting for him to kiss him.


    He looked at that side of his face for a long while, not knowing what was going on in his head, and then reached out and untied his outer robe and hung it next to the bed, lying to the side of Jiang Zheliu, carefully reaching out to take him into his arms.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s waist was very thin, through the layer of snow-coloured thin undershirt, he could feel the slightly lower body temperature of Jiang Zheliu, which could soothe the restlessness of his Devil body, so it was particularly comfortable to embrace him.


    Wen Renye slowly put his arms around him more tightly.


    Jiang Zheliu had fallen asleep at this moment, he slept very quietly and mindfully. Before waking up he almost never changed positions. Even though the other had moved him into his arms, he put up no resistance at all. It seemed that after their divine interconnection, Wen Renye¡¯s scent was too familiar, he was too dependent that he even returned the embrace and lowered his head against Wen Renye¡¯s collarbone, his breath slowly spreading out and dispersing.


    Wen Renye¡¯s heartbeat was frenetic, his heart was thumping crazily in his chest. Whilst telling himself to be calm, he embraced the other tighter and closer and gently kissed him on the forehead.


    Ling Xiao Sect.


    In the main hall of Ling Xiao Sect, an old man with white hair and beard holding a walking stick was standing beside Zhu Wuxin.


    This was Lin Qingxu, the Grand Elder1 of the Ling Xiao Sect. When Jiang Zheliu was the Sect Leader, Lin Qingxu was his assistant. The Grand Elder was not particularly outstanding, but he had hundreds of years of experience in assisting Jiang Zheliu, so he had the right to speak about many issues and matters. But he is mediocre and incompetent, easily swayed by others, and got confused during important matters, so Jiang Zheliu never really considered him.


    Zhu Wuxin¡¯s old wounds had yet to heal, he¡¯d taken a strong hit to the chest by that devilish energy, causing him to still feel compression and pain in his chest. But his physical injuries were nothing compared to the scenes of that day.


    Recently, there had been squirmishes amongst the Cultivation World and the others at the borders of the Realm. The other sects had sent news, saying that the border demons were roaming wild, and even the ghosts of the Netherworld were rampant. Those sects were short of manpower, so they were pleading with the Leader of the Immortal Sects for assistance.


    Zhu Wuxin had already become quite stressed due to this situation. He handed the token2 to Lin Qingxu and said, ¡°Thank you, Grand Elder. Let¡¯s use the method we discussed before and have our disciples go forth to assist the others.¡±


    Lin Qingxu took the token: ¡°I will do my best, Sect Leader, you must take care of your health.¡±


    He turned to leave, then stopped and turned around and said, ¡°There is one thing that I¡¯ve been thinking about, but I still want to inform Sect Leader.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin frowned: ¡°Grand Elder, please tell me.¡±


    He was actually reluctant to listen as he was already troubled by these things in the past few days, plus thinking about what happened on Zhongnan Mountain, he was feeling very unnerved, as if there was something very important that he had overlooked and he still hadn¡¯t noticed it until now..


    Lin Qingxu glanced at the tea on the table and opened his mouth: ¡°Recently, our spies at the Wushuang Jian Pavilion reported that Jin Yujie had recently got very close to Vermilion Bird Zhenjun of the Demon Realm and they seemed to be discussing something important. Later, I especially sent someone to the Tianji Pavilion to ask Pavilion Lord Wang, he said ¡­¡­¡±


    As soon as Zhu Wuxin heard the names of these two people, he already felt tense: ¡°What did he say?¡±


    ¡°He said that Vermilion Bird Zhenjun and Junior Pavilion Lord Jin were doing it for Jiang Xianzun.¡±


    These words were like a minefield, making Zhu Wuxin immediately feel emotionally sunken. He thought of what Jiang Zheliu had said that day, and felt his blood run cold.


    ¡­¡­ Was shixiong just taking care of him because of his father¡¯s last dying wish? Shixiong he ¡­¡­


    In Zhu Wuxin¡¯s mind, Jiang Zheliu was the one who had always taken care of him and protected him unconditionally, that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t even mind if Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t talk to him. He felt that he and shixiong should have been the most familiar and closest two people in this world, and Jiang Zheliu would never become estranged from him for anyone else. Even if, he had made a mistake at that moment and ¡­¡­ and let shixiong get injured ¡­¡­


    Zhu Wuxin¡¯s thoughts were interrupted.


    A moment of confusion ¡­¡­


    He suddenly felt like he¡¯d been poked with a needle right through a thin layer of skin, revealing a hole as big as a pinhole, which allowed him to glimpse into his own most hidden and inner thoughts.


    Zhu Wuxin lifted the cup of tea on the table, took a sip with impatience, closed his eyes and exhaled, and said: ¡°For shixiong? What can they possibly do, each one is more useless than the other. They can¡¯t even speak when they¡¯re in front of shixiong, what can they do?¡±


    ¡°But if Xianzun was willing to go with them ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    Zhu Wuxin fiercely opened his eyes, and abruptly looked up at Lin Qingxu. His expression was like a wounded and abandoned wolf cub, but a fierceness cut through the cold air: ¡°Shixiong would never agree, he did everything for the sake of the world. I am the only one that he treats differently, I am the only one that can make shixiong come back ¡­¡­¡±


    The more he spoke, the more urgent he became, the more he spoke, the less he was able to control his emotions. Zhu Wuxin paced about for a few steps, his expression slowly became more intense.


    ¡°¡­¡­ Damn all those who covet shixiong.¡±


    Lin Qingxu swept a glance at the half-drunk cup of tea on the table, waved his horsetail whisk, and said kindly: ¡°He has always been Sect Leader¡¯s closest and dearest person, so naturally he¡¯d allow Sect Leader to bring him back personally.¡±


    This ¡°closest and dearest person¡± seemed to have touched Zhu Wuxin¡¯s most secret nerve, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks.


    ¡°¡­¡­ He must be mad at me.¡±


    Lin Qingxu didn¡¯t really understand, he just listened as this new Sect Leader held onto a corner of the table, eyes bewildered and said: ¡°Shixiong must be angry with me, blame me for not treating him well, that¡¯s why he said all that. He should be, should be the person who treats me the best¡­¡­ he¡¯s only with that big devil because he¡¯s mad at me.¡±


    The actions of Jin Yujie and Lie Zhen naturally meant that Jiang Zheliu indeed didn¡¯t have any intention of taking back his authority. But in Zhu Wuxin¡¯s mind at the moment, he was wrapped up in a strong sense of loss and almost no longer cared about the position of the sect leader. He was just reminiscing about the past with shixiong ¡­¡­ If he were to do it all over again, he would certainly not have made the same mistake¡­¡­ and would not let shixiong suffer such a serious injury.


    Zhu Wuxin took a deep breath and reacted with hindsight to what he had done. He leaned on the edge of the table, his eyes slowly lowering.


    ¡°Grand Elder. What I did, I actually ¡­¡­ went too far, right?¡±


    Lin Qingxu understood what he was trying to say, but this matter was actually a good thing for Lin Qingxu. Because when the position of Sect Leader was in the hands of Jiang Zheliu, all of the elders had been constantly suppressed by him, and never had the opportunity to take any initiative, but with Zhu Wuxin as Sect Leader, it was much easier for them to do as they wished.


    The Grand Elder stroked his long beard and said in a kind tone, ¡°You are the former Sect Leader¡¯s own son, and Jiang Xianzun had such a good relationship with Grand Sect Leader3, he will surely forgive you.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin stood still, seemingly comforted by the words, and murmured, ¡°He will definitely forgive me.¡±


    As he spoke, he reached out and picked up his outer cloak from the side, doing it up as he walked outside, and said without looking back, ¡°Grand Elder, I have to leave.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The efficacy of the Five Power Passion Pill is gradual, and will not exhibit its full potency overnight. The same goes for the Cylindrical Heart Powder, which will never take deep root, before it slowly manifests itself.


    While adding medicine into his medicine stove and then turning down the temperature, Yu Jinnian looked at the medicinal recipe in his hand and told off the two ginseng children in front of him: ¡°I told you that the Clear Rain Leaf and the Seven Treasures Lotus cannot be heated together! What¡¯s the matter with you two, can¡¯t you even remember that?¡±


    The little Taoist girl fiddled with her horsetail whisk and whispered, ¡°But it was the Monastery Master who wrote it down wrong¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, you!¡± Yu Jinnian was interrupted by her and replied in annoyance, ¡°So what if I wrote it wrong, hadn¡¯t I already explained all this to you before? Well good, you¡¯ve given Jiang Xianzun the wrong thing to eat, you guys better think about how to explain to the big devil later.¡±


    The little Daoist boy said: ¡°I just asked Ah-Chu, he said that Qianbei fell asleep whilst reading and should not be awake yet. How about we take advantage of this ¡­¡­¡±


    This was not unusual, as Jiang Zheliu¡¯s illness meant that he needed an enormous amount of rest and sleep.. Yu Jinnian glanced at him and said, ¡°And do what?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ Escape?¡± The little boy said tentatively.


    The words had barely come out of his mouth, when he was knocked on the head by Yu Jinnian, he hastily covered his forehead.


    Yu Jinnian was weary, he said: ¡°Escape, what escape. Forget it, I¡¯ll talk to Wen Renye, I can not count on you two¡­¡­ According to what you¡¯ve fed him, I believe that Jiang Qianbei will be blind for a few days.¡±


    The Daoist girl mumbled, ¡°He¡¯s staying at Dan Xin Monastery, it¡¯s safe here, it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Go go go.¡± Yu Jinnian blasted the two ginseng children away to bring the great devil over. He then put away the medicine stove and put the pills into a porcelain pot. Not long after, he saw Wen Renye lift the bamboo curtain and sit opposite him.


    This devil was actually quite two-faced. In front of Jiang Qianbei, he was the obedient and harmless good neighbour, but in front of others, he was always cold and expressionless, and his entire body was always emanating a ¡°sooner or later I¡¯m going to kill you¡± kind of domineering devilish aura.


    Yu Jinnian looked at Wen Renye and politely told him the whole story, then he saw Wen Renye¡¯s deep purple eyes look up slightly, his eyes were cold, and the tone of his voice was also cold and austere: ¡°Blind?¡±


    ¡°For roughly three to five days.¡± Yu Jinnian saw that the situation was not right, and immediately added, ¡°But these three or five days is a false reference, perhaps not for so long. The medicines are tonics, the clash of the different medicinal properties caused this side effect, so that his eyes cannot absorb light. But after this, his eyesight, which was already somewhat damaged some days ago, should also recover.¡±


    Only when Wen Renye heard the last half of the sentence, did his frown seem to lessen somewhat. He did not say a word and just looked at Yu Jinnian, then he got up and was about to leave.


    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Yu Jinnian called out to him, he pondered for a moment, and then said, ¡°I have an idea that might be able to omit many tedious steps to aid Jiang Xianzun¡¯s recovery, but it requires the help of¡­¡­ the Devil Lord.¡±


    Wen Renye stopped and turned around and said, ¡°Tell me.¡±


    ¡°It is said that behind the second Xuan Tongju Gate of the Devil Realm, there is a natural formation called the Resurrection Stone, which has a very strong vital energy.¡± Yu Jinnian continued, ¡°Resurrection stone is just a name, it can not bring back the dead, but it is full of powerful vital energy, it can make an inch of barren Devil Realm, grow flourishing flowers and green leaves within a ten li4 radius.¡±


    There was indeed such a stone amongst the ten li of flowers behind the second Xuan Tongju Gate.


    ¡°Qianbei¡¯s physique is special, I¡¯m sure you know that too.¡± Yu Jinnian looked up at him, ¡°I read a lot of medical books and strange things. This is the most suitable for his physique, I believe that if he can wear it, it should be very helpful to Qianbei¡¯s recovery ¡­¡­ except I believe that back then the Devil Realm was not able to take it out, is that right?¡±


    Wen Renye thought about it and then replied, ¡°That thing was being protected by a giant python creature. When my father led the army to open the gate, he thought the stone to be useless and left it there.¡±


    He spoke with a slight pause and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and see him. Don¡¯t worry, Divine Sage of Medicine, within five days, I¡¯ll definitely fetch it and bring it back here.¡±


    This seemed to be the first time he had been so polite to this Divine Sage of Medicine.


    Yu Jinnian watched as he left, and he was slightly relieved. He thought about when Jiang Zheliu would wake up in a moment only to be met with pitch blackness, this would actually be something quite shocking to take. But then he thought that that person was Jiang Zheliu ¡­¡­ with his attitude, he may even just treat it as a trivial matter, right?


    Meanwhile, on the other side of Monastery.


    Ah-Chu was still in the room sorting out clothes, thinking about what the Amazing Liuliu should wear tomorrow. The antlers on his head had almost fully healed, recently he was immersed in the joy of dressing the protagonist.


    Just after Ah-Chu finished organising all the different styles of white robes, he turned his head to see Jiang Zheliu sitting at the edge of the bed, he had an empty gaze, he sat there for a while, Ah-Chu wasn¡¯t sure what the other was thinking about it. He didn¡¯t really take notice of it, his jumping deer hooves clattered over to show the piece of clothing in his hand to Jiang Zheliu: ¡°Gege, does this look good? Do you want to wear this tomorrow?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked towards the sound of the other¡¯s voice, seeing only a scene of darkness, he nodded: ¡°Looks good.¡±


    ¡°This dark pattern is a bit repetitive.¡± Ah-Chu said, ¡°What do you think about this one? Chang Qian said last night that the ones with plum blossom patterns look the best.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu felt that he was really trying a little too hard, although he really couldn¡¯t focus to see, he still seriously seemed to ponder over it for a moment, and said: ¡°That looks good too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for sure.¡± Ah Chu was satisfied, ¡°Shenxian gege looks good in anything. Then I¡¯ll ¡­¡­ eh tomorrow, gege?¡±


    He finally realized that the other¡¯s eyes were completely out of focus.


    Alarm bells started ringing in the little deer¡¯s heart, frantically racking his brain trying to think through the part of the book he had actually read to confirm that there is no such demented content. He questioned whether he¡¯d been reading a different version, whilst rubbing against the knees of Jiang Zheliu, blearily looking at him for a long while. His heart was thumping, he was about to cry: ¡°Can ¡­¡­ Can you look at me?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu reached out and touched his antler, saying calmly, ¡°I can¡¯t see.¡±


    These three words simply shattered Ah Chu¡¯s psychological defenses, he dumbly lay upon Jiang Zheliu¡¯s knee, and just opened his mouth to cry, then a hand coldly grabbed the back of his neck as if he was just an object, and carried him away putting him to the side.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine, it¡¯s temporary.¡± It was the voice of the great devil, Wen Renye, ¡°Yu Jinnian said that there was a mistake with the medicinal food and it has produced some side effects.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was originally very calm, but when the other leant in close to him to say this, the fiery temperature from his burning tongue seemed to move Jiang Zheliu¡¯s many years of cold and introverted nerves, burning up so hot that he wasn¡¯t sure what to do.


    He had not experienced this kind of thing before, but he had much experience in remaining cold and indifferent, allowing him to conceal the change in his emotions well. After a short silence, Jiang Zheliu reached out to hold the other¡¯s hand, and whispered: ¡°Well, try to come back sooner.¡±


    He paused for a moment, and then added, ¡°¡­¡­ Or, how about I explain to you a bit more about the shape of the Devil Realm before you go?¡±


    The first sentence overwhelmed the devil¡¯s heart with emotions, but the second fell flat. Wen Renye was slightly stunned: ¡°¡­¡­ shape?¡±


    ¡°Before your father¡¯s reign, the particular characteristics of the Devil Realm had already revealed itself.¡± Jiang Zheliu seemingly returned to his comfort zone and recounted slowly, ¡°The extreme barrenness and barbarism, coupled with this atmosphere of war and killing intent amongst the entire population has brought the invention of new technology in the Devil Realm to a standstill, however, the casting of weapons and battle armour had become stronger and stronger, turning the Devil Realm into a race that has become particularly skilled at plundering¡­¡­ If the Xuan Tongju Gates had been opened earlier, I am afraid that a battle would have happened long ago.¡±


    ¡°The heavenly treasures hidden in the Xuan Tongju Gates, also include some other natural resources, the Devil Realm has completely ignored these and have only taken out the treasures which can be useful for war or for cultivation ¡­¡­ Undertaking this kind of path, at most in two hundred years, the Devil Realm will be like a battle chariot loaded with gunpowder, first flattening the Demon Realm, then the Cultivation World, and after taking over the Cultivation World which is connected to the Mortal Realm, you will finally go and attack the Ghost Realm.¡±


    It seemed to be the first time that Jiang Zheliu had said so much in front of him.


    ¡°If everything goes well, your future is, indeed, immeasurable.¡± Jiang Zheliu slowly said, ¡°But there are two things you must take into account. First is that amongst all the great devils, there will certainly be those who are ambitious and waiting for an opportunity to rise to the top, and perhaps an internal bloodbath will occur before the war with the other realms begins. The second is that ¡­¡­ the beginning of the great war, will harm the harmony and peace of the world. Later on, when you reach the step of Merging, I am afraid you might reach some hindrance. When it really comes to this, you must listen to me ¡­¡­¡±


    He stopped here, seemingly having reminded himself of something. He thought that two hundred years was actually too long, he might not be able to see it happen, so he did not continue.


    Wen Renye froze when he heard all of this. He looked at the grand sick beauty in front of him, Jiang Zheliu was wearing a thin shirt sitting on the edge of the bed, his knees covered with a soft fur blanket, his white hair flowing, his eyes blindfolded, his delicate and fragile beauty made him seem like a picturesque painting. But when he spoke it was highly divisive, and the topic was always about setting the world affairs in order.


    ¡°You¡¯re already in this state.¡± Wen Renye paused for a moment and then added, ¡°Why are you still thinking about these things?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was also stunned by his response, he thought this person who always looked fierce and brimming with devilish energy, with the face of the strong enemy of the cultivation world, how come the other had listened to so much of what he had said, but his first reaction was actually to say that Jiang Zheliu was overthinking things in his state.


    He was amused, he pinched the other¡¯s fingers, said: ¡°This is just what I thought about before. If the Realm Boundary had not been damaged, you¡¯d already have fallen by my hand.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu used very little force to pinch him, but it still made Wen Renye¡¯s heart beat a little faster. His breath was flushed with a dry heat, blowing unavoidably over towards Jiang Zheliu, gradually getting closer and closer.


    He said slowly, ¡°I am also in your hands now.¡±


    There was a lingering scent of pine, and his deep voice resonated in Jiang Zheliu¡¯s ears.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s heartbeat nearly missed half a beat, his ears were hot, burning and itchy, this extremely strange feeling made him feel a little uneasy. After a moment, he said quietly: ¡°¡­¡­ I can¡¯t even hold a sword anymore, I¡¯m afraid that your wish for a rematch with me will be left unfulfilled.¡±


    He wanted to surpass him. This was the reason that Wen Renye had originally used to persuade him to get treatment.


    This wish has endured through the years, turning from an obsession into a sort of a symbol. The more secretive and deep feelings are, the more they sink into the deepest part of our hearts, refusing to easily be admitted to, refusing to be said out loud.


    ¡°¡­¡­ It¡¯s okay.¡± Wen Renye looked at him and said, ¡°I have a new wish.¡±


    He gently pressed Jiang Zheliu¡¯s shoulders and kissed his eyes through the long, soft layer of silk.


    The snow-white eyelashes trembled a little under the silk, subtly revealing a rare hint of helplessness.


    ¡­¡­ It turns out he wasn¡¯t born so indifferent and cold. Wen Renye thought.


    His voice was starkly earnest and frank, with a slight sense of urgent expectation, yet it sounded very solemn in Jiang Zheliu¡¯s ears.


    ¡°I want to be able to see you everyday for the rest of my life.¡±

 CH 21

    Zhongnan Mountain.


    The wind and snow on Zhongnan Mountain was too cold. The thick snow that was covering the tombstone was blown away suddenly by the cold wind, scattering aimlessly in all directions.


    Some snowflakes flew up the sleeves of his green Taoist robes.


    Zhu Wuxin stopped before the gravestone.


    He was here again, brimming with a thousand thoughts that he had just figured out. All the way here he was thinking about how to get Shixiong to forgive him, thinking about what he had done wrong. He wanted to beg Jiang Zheliu to come back to him.


    Shixiong had never abandoned him before ¡­¡­ This enduring love that had long been hidden and something that he himself hadn¡¯t been aware of, was beginning to sprout roots in the gloomy corners of his mind, ruthlessly rooting themselves into his blood.


    Making his indebtedness and possessiveness flourish and increase.


    He really did not believe that Shixiong would abandon him.


    But when Zhu Wuxin arrived here, all he saw was an empty small pinehouse and bamboo garden. There was no one there, all that was left was the remnants in the medicine furnace that had cooled down but was still emitting a bitter fragrance.


    He stayed in that small house for a long time, sitting across from the lounge chair where Jiang Zheliu had lain during his last visit. It is as glossy as ever, without even a trace of dirt or marks.


    Zhu Wuxin felt an unspeakable sourness well up in his chest.


    He was unfamiliar with this feeling and didn¡¯t even understand what kind of emotion it was yet. He couldn¡¯t help but feel like he was going to lose him ¡­¡­ Just like that day when Jiang Zheliu had left to mend the Realm Boundary ¡ª


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s fine black hair turned into a snow white. Coming out his sleeves was a pair of pale and slender hand, fragile like they would break from a light touch. When Jiang Zheliu had gently brushed away his hand, he had vaguely felt a surge of this frightening feeling ¡­¡­ he was afraid that shixiong did not want him.


    Zhu Wuxin blankly averted his eyes, fiddled with the remnants of the medicine stove, not understanding why back then ¡­¡­ for the sake of a Sect Leader¡¯s position, he had let shixiong become this way.


    Jiang Zheliu was so badly injured.


    For the first time, he faced this fact clearly, and after coming out of the small pine house, he stopped once more before his father¡¯s burial site.


    The wind and snow were so strong that the snow had covered once more the engraving on the gravestone. Zhu Wuxin stretched out his hand, brushed away the thick snow to clear it.


    The words on the gravestone had been carved by Jiang Zheliu¡¯s own hands. Each word had been engraved deeply, as if he had carved into his own bones and blood. Zhu Wuxin was now meeting everything face on, finally he understood the hidden but not revealed meaning of shixiong ¡­¡­ Jiang Zheliu took his father¡¯s dying wish as his last wish, and he, himself was also a part of this last wish.


    Zhu Wuxin cleared away the scattered snow, knelt in front of the gravestone, he bent over and kowtowed.


    ¡°Father.¡±


    His father had worked hard and exhausted himself for centuries to sustain the development of the Ling Xiao Sect. He was a gentleman who has been praised by the world for his consideration and loyalty.


    He still remembered the moment when his father had brought Shixiong back. Jiang Zheliu was good-looking, but he was withdrawn and didn¡¯t talk much. He was hard-working, seemingly very independent, but he was always being bullied and scolded by those jealous fellow disciples, but shixiong has always ignored these things. Zhu Wuxin almost never heard any retorts coming from Jiang Zheliu.


    But he hated those people at that time, he wanted to protect shixiong, he argued with people everywhere, he fought with those children that were older than him. He also used to quietly run to Shixiong¡¯s room at night to comfort him, tell him stories, say he would be good to him, even if everyone did not like him, Wuxin had always liked shixiong¡­¡­


    The rustling of the letter paper was mixed with the sound of the falling snow.


    The beginning of the letter was a conversation with Zhu Wenyuan, but the more it went on, the more it looked like Jiang Zheliu¡¯s will. Each word seemed to carry a sense of relief.


    ¡°In my dream last night, dizi saw myself and Wuxin as children. He ran to comfort me in the middle of the night, and helped me to wipe away my tears ¡­¡­ but dizi for so many years now, no longer has any tears to shed.¡±


    ¡°I am useless with a crippled body and often wake up in the middle of the night, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. When I sat alone until dawn, I found that the bright moon in Zhongnan mountain was very beautiful. I have never been able to watch it like this before.¡±


    ¡°Yesterday there was a shooting star ¡­¡­ unfortunately I do not remember how it looked, because I got drunk, I am embarrassed ¡­¡­ But sadly, in the past I never had such an opportunity, surprisingly to get absolutely drunk was actually a good thing.¡±


    The paper was clutched more tightly, and the sweat in Zhu Wuxin¡¯s hands began to smudge the handwriting.


    He re-folded the semi-burnt letters, folded them again, and put them as if they were precious into his robes, right against his heart.


    Zhu Wuxin raised his hand to wipe his cheek, he wanted to laugh, but could not, he felt like crying, but when he went to wipe his tears, he discovered that they were also cold.


    He just didn¡¯t know whether his tears had always been cold, or if they were cold from the wind here.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Dan Xin Monastery.


    Wen Renye left in the middle of the night. When Jiang Zheliu woke up the next day and two hours had passed when he did not hear the other¡¯s voice, he knew that Wen Renye must have gone back to the Devil Realm.


    He naturally accepted it calmly. He did what he had to do, after taking the medicine, he slowly moved outside to sit in the recliner chair, cradling the hand warmer, wearing an outer cloak, he soaked up the sun outside, like a lazy cat.


    Dan Xin Monastery was located in the centre of the lake, and the endless, mirror-like water could be seen right outside his room. But his eyes had been covered with long silk. At this moment, he still could not see anything, he was even deprived of such a simple basic pleasure of reading. Really all he could do was sleep and take his medicine to recuperate.


    Yu Jinnian had come once before at noon, he had carefully explained to him that medicinal food had been mixed up, but the medicinal herbs used were very mild, so there were no permanent effects. And although temporary blindness was a side effect, it seemed that it would also alleviate the blurring of vision thereafter.


    Jiang Zheliu was good at accepting his current situation and had nothing special to say about it.


    He was sitting in the chair under the sun, and the temperature of his hand warmer was just right. This place was different from Zhongnan Mountain, it was warm everywhere which always made people feel drowsy.


    Just when Jiang Zheliu was feeling a little sleepy, he felt a cold thing stick to him and rub his calf through his robe.


    ¡­¡­Ehhh£¿


    Jiang Zheliu did not react, and was again rubbed by this cold, long object, he pondered for a moment and said, ¡°¡­¡­ Chang Qian?¡±


    The black snake, having been called by his Shenxian gege, woke up from his daze, and slid up around his calf, until he reached Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand.


    The heavenly spirit body¡¯s fragrance was just too inviting. Even when the ginseng children delivered the medicinal meals, they often couldn¡¯t help but squirm and come over nervously, their eyes full of subtle longing.


    He was obviously sick and wounded, but being this close to nature, it naturally brought out the most vibrant form of his spiritual body.


    The little snake wrapped around Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand, slowly rubbing against the back of his hand, sliding his delicate, cold scales across the back of his hand, and then rubbing against the palm of his hand.


    Jiang Zheliu reached out and gathered the small black snake, rubbed his fingers on the snake¡¯s belly a few times, and whispered, ¡°How come you¡¯re here?¡±


    Chang Qian had been in the kitchen for the first few days trying to get some cooking tips, and mingling with the ginseng children, he¡¯d gained a lot of medicinal cuisine knowledge.


    Chang Qian said, ¡°Little uncle has finally left, otherwise there would be no such opportunity.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ Xian, Xianzun ¡­¡­¡± it was a girl¡¯s voice, ¡°So you are here ¡­¡­ ooo ¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was silent for a moment and asked in a low voice, ¡°Ah-Li?¡±


    Ah-Li was a koi carp that he had kept in the fish pond of his residence back in Ling Xiao Sect. A girl who only took human form at the age of three hundred. He remembered that the other¡¯s tail was red and her face was often red when she saw him.


    He had instructed Wuxin back then to send them all back to where they belonged. He didn¡¯t expect that the place that Ah-Li returned to was this lake.


    Jiang Zheliu only said these two words, but the girl was overcome with emotions. She got out of the water, still wet, and fiercely jumped into Jiang Zheliu¡¯s arms, whilst crying, ¡°Xianzun why did you want to drive Ah-Li away, even if Xianzun has no cultivation, Ah-Li has always, always accompanied Xianzun, Ah-Li will not leave Xianzun ¡­¡­¡±


    She was crying a lot, whilst Jiang Zheliu was pressed to her chest. It felt a little stuffy, but he still did not say anything, he just reached out and touched her head, said: ¡°I did not drive you away, but if you continue to hold me so tightly, soon you will have to send me off.¡±


    He said this gently, but Ah-Li still scrambled to get up, Chang Qian who had been squished into a snake cake was equally confused when he opened his eyes, not knowing what had happened.


    The little carp demon looked at the long silk wrapped around his eyes, her heart was thumping, she was almost to the point of crying again, but she held it back and didn¡¯t speak for a long while, before saying: ¡°Xianzun, I¡¯ve missed you so much ¡­¡­ Junior Sect Leader Zhu told us that you were injured and cannot take care of us anymore, but Ah-Li does not need you to take care of me. Xianzun, I can take care of you. ¡±


    This group of little demons used to call Zhu Wuxin, Junior Sect Leader, and they were still calling him Junior Sect Leader even now. During Jiang Zheliu¡¯s time in power, almost everyone knew that Zhu Wuxin was his successor. It was only Zhu Wuxin who would be suspicious and jealous, having wild thoughts.


    Jiang Zheliu did not expect to meet any of the little demons he had previously taken in, especially not here. He thought for a moment, then he remembered that previously the little Devil Lord had made him agree to three rules of which ¡­¡­that Devil seemed to have said that he could not take in any more little demons.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°I¡¯m fine now, you don¡¯t have to worry.¡±


    Ah-Li wiped her tears, looked at him, then looked at the little snake in his arms, too sour to speak1, and asked softly, ¡°It¡¯s me who came too late. It must have been hard for


    Xianzun ¡­¡­¡±


    Everyone seemed to think he¡¯s having a hard time.


    Jiang Zheliu wanted to touch the little girl¡¯s head again, but because he couldn¡¯t see her, he just reached out his hand and then retracted it and simply added, ¡°Do you live here?¡±


    Ah-Li nodded, her tears not yet dry, she said: ¡°Yes, before I went to Ling Xiao sect, I lived here. Monastery Master Yu doesn¡¯t care about these things, there are many small koi carps in this lake that are about to become enlightened¡­¡­ Xianzun¡¯s scent smells too good, you must be careful!¡±


    ¡­¡­ Beware of a school of carp.


    Jiang Zheliu couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little and said: ¡°Ok. I understand. Why don¡¯t you go back now.¡±


    Ah-Li of course didn¡¯t want to leave but she still agreed. However her heart was so worried that she had to lie on the shore and stare at him for a while. Her bright red koi tail slowly floated under the lake water.


    She looked at him for a long time, the more she looked, the more she blushed. She shyly withdrew her gaze, her inner concerns slowly changed, and even secretly thought: Xianzun¡¯s cultivation is all lost, his eyes can not see, is it not my opportunity now, to be like the snake lying in the arms of Xianzun?


    She did not know that many other people had also had similar thoughts, but she continued down this train of thought and looked at the black snake again. She watched for a moment before she suddenly realised that that snake did not seem to be a pure demon.


    This snake carried a devilish energy on its body.


    Ah-Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat, she suddenly remembered that recently there had been some rumours coming out of the Demon Realm¡¯s Wan Ling Palace, saying that Xianzun had been coerced by a big demon ¡­¡­ Now that she had seen Jiang Zheliu, originally she had not believed the rumours, but then she remembered that Xianzun did not like the devil race.


    Why would Jiang Xianzun let a half-demon, half-devil hang around him ¡­¡­


    The little carp demon continued to worry for a long while. Her mind was wandering all over the place, she was afraid that this snake was the big devil that had been left to spy on Xianzun. She did not dare to ask, and could only think of chaotic nonsense in her head. The more she thought about it, the more wild and more terrible her thoughts became, as she slowly sank back into the water.


    There couldn¡¯t really be a great devil bullying Xianzun, right ¡­¡­ Ah-Li¡¯s mind automatically began to fill up with ideas like Xianzun being forcefully taken, being abused and other thoughts along this vein, coupled with all this kind of erotic stuff that Monastery Master Yu was well-known for. After remembering this fact, the young girl¡¯s mind was filled with even more unspeakable things.


    No.


    The little carp demon solemnly thought, I have to rescue Xianzun!


    It¡¯s just that she had no way to do it¡­¡­ Who could she get help from ¡­¡­? The two Zhenjuns of Wan Ling Palace were close friends of Xianzun, and the Junior Sect Leader Zhu was the closest person to Xianzun¡­¡­ and the Junior Pavilion Lord Jin of the Wushuang Jian Pavilion was also very ¡­¡­


    Ah-Li spat out a water bubble. Separated by a clear layer of lake water, she secretly peeked at Jiang Zheliu, thinking more and more that he was stuck in ¡°an abyss of suffering¡±.


    But at this time, Jiang Xianzun who was supposedly stuck in ¡°an abyss of suffering¡±2 was stroking the small limp snake in his arms whilst his mind began to drift further and further away.


    What was the little devil lord doing now?


    ¡­¡­ Kind of miss him.

 CH 22

    Some of these unrealistic rumours were becoming more and more intense.


    During these few days that Jiang Zheliu was unable to read any books, he just listened to Ah-Chu telling him some exaggerated stories. These were all rumours that he had heard from the ginseng children ¡­¡­ This little deer did not seem to be interested in cultivation at all but was rather far more interested in idle gossip.


    At first, Jiang Zheliu listened for a bit, he thought he¡¯d just take it with a pinch of salt, until he heard the rumour which had evolved from ¡°the overbearing Devil Lord¡± into ¡°the monster who had a ferocious-looking green face, three heads and six arms¡±, after pondering over it and being bewildered for half a day, he still could not put that description together with the little Devil Lord who had been beside him this whole time.


    Wen Renye was handsome and mysterious, with a kind of overflowing sharpness of a pointed sword that brought with it a certain element of aggressiveness. It was just that a devil¡¯s human form is still a disguise, so it was perfectly possible that his genuine devil body may really have a ferocious-looking green face, three heads and six arms.


    Jiang Zheliu thought of the pair of horns on Wen Renye¡¯s head that day before he¡¯d put them away. The horns were dark purple, with intricate and distinct blood-coloured patterns, gorgeous and hideous at the same time but non-conflicting, there is a sense of wildness and romantic beauty about them.


    He lowered his head to take a sip of tea, and his thoughts strayed a bit during Ah-Chu¡¯s story¡­¡­ Devil horns¡­.want to touch them.


    These rumours were just Lie Zhen and Jin Yujie wanting to use this as an excuse to occupy the moral high ground, and hurl some verbal abuse at Wen Renye. They probably didn¡¯t really have the courage to really go to war with the Devil Realm ¡­¡­ Jiang Zheliu had already thought about it anyway, if the Devil Realm was to incite a war, it would be like a chariot loaded with gunpowder only rolling forward and completely flattening any obstacles in its way.


    There wouldn¡¯t be a second person like him in the Cultivation World, an ignorant mantis that would try and stop the chariot1.


    Plus, Lie Zhen had Qing Lin to hold him back, and Jin Yujie had his father. Therefore, Jiang Zheliu listened to these rumours in passing with a light heart, thinking only that the little devil lord¡¯s reputation was harmed, and his image in the outside world seemed to be becoming more and more obscure.


    He finished his tea, but then the cup of tea in his hand was replaced by Ah-Chu. A strong bitter smell wafted over, the medicine was still warm and bubbling upwards.


    Jiang Zheliu looked slightly stiff and he had a hardly noticeable frown on his face.


    It was only now that Wen Renye was not there, that Jiang Zheliu realised how he had been coaxed and pampered by this person. He thought that without a mouthful of candy, he did not even want to drink the medicine.


    Jiang Zheliu did not say it out loud, he just lowered his head and slowly drank the medicine.


    Ah-Chu was hanging up some clothes, when he asked: ¡°Gege? Did you meet another demon today? Why does this robe have the scent of a demon I don¡¯t know?¡±


    Demons have a keen sense of smell.


    ¡°It¡¯s a koi carp that I used to know.¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°She lives in this lake.¡±


    Ah-Chu racked his brains for a long while, but did not find such a character from the thin pages of the contents that he had read. He sat next to Jiang Zheliu, watched him drink his medicine, and moved closer to bury his face into the other¡¯s shoulder to soak up the other¡¯s scent.


    Crisp and clear but not biting cold, there was very light coolness mixed with a hint of slightly bitter medicinal herbs. The spiritual scent leaking out of his meridians was fragrant and sweet, rushing straight to one¡¯s brain.


    Ah-Chu gulped and said, ¡°I blame gege for smelling too good, otherwise why would you be picked and trampled on2 as soon as you come out in the sun.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu paused for a moment and asked rhetorically, ¡°¡­¡­ Picked and trampled on?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s eyes had not gotten better yet, but his body had seen some improvement. He could feel the changes in these recent days, he felt like his body was like a vase full of cracks, using all its strength to patch and repair itself, not knowing when it¡¯d be able to be filled up with water again.


    He propped up his chin whilst rubbing the antlers on the deer¡¯s head slowly, thinking that this was also good.


    To pass a quiet and monotonous life, with someone to keep him company so that he wasn¡¯t lonely, no one to visit so it wouldn¡¯t be noisy. Everything was easy and comfortable, everything was as it should be.


    But life has never ever let him have his own way.


    At the moment of sunset, the sky above Dan Xin Monastery suddenly dyed a flaming red, and the song of the Vermilion Bird could be heard from the clouds, and then the bird landed slowly.


    Lie Zhen was wearing a red and gold robe, his eyes bright intense red, his entire body was burning with an intense energy. But he still subconsciously lowered the temperature of his body when he saw his good friend and headed to his side.


    Wherever Vermilion Bird Zhenjun goes, he¡¯d always make an extravagant entrance that was indeed difficult for anyone to be able to continue sleeping.


    Yesterday, Ah-Li had stumbled upon Jiang Zheliu, and today the Zhenjun of the Demon Realm had already come knocking, so it wasn¡¯t really necessary to think very deeply about what had happened.


    Lie Zhen did not speak, but stood beside him for a moment before reaching out and gently pressing the back of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand.


    Jiang Zheliu retracted his hand.


    After a few moments, he heard Lie Zhen ask in a low, hoarse voice, ¡°Your eyes¡­¡­ can¡¯t you see?¡±


    Since Lie Zhen was here, Jiang Zheliu could guess that everyone else also knew where he was now. Jiang Zheliu was too lazy to talk to him, so he just did not answer.


    Jiang Zheliu loosened his grip, he patted the little deer¡¯s shoulder indicating to Ah-Chu to go inside.


    Thousands of miles of clouds across a red horizon. The twilight fell behind Lie Zhen, contrasting with the fiery red flamboyance of his body.


    It was just the two of them.


    Lie Zhen reached out to hold Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand: ¡°My good friend, I ¡­¡­ stood by and did nothing, I was wrong. Qing Lin and I did not expect that you¡¯d be injured to this extent. If I had known that day, I would never have let you go.¡±


    He didn¡¯t expect that not one person would help Jiang Zheliu from a huge sect like Ling Xiao Sect, and he didn¡¯t expect that Zhu Wuxin would also stand by and do nothing.


    But others also thought this way, they could not imagine why the two Zhenjuns of the Demon Realm who had been friends with Jiang Zheliu for over a thousand years, really stood by and did nothing.


    Jiang Zheliu tugged his hand, but failed to break free from the other¡¯s grasp, he said: ¡°I¡¯ve already told you. I do not blame you, there is no blame, you do not have to keep insisting that I forgive you.¡±


    ¡°But every word you say is clearly blaming me.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu sighed helplessly and said, ¡°You think too much.¡±


    He took Lie Zhen¡¯s wrist with his other hand and pulled the other¡¯s fingers off his other hand and added, ¡°I have never thought that way. I just don¡¯t like the way that you shower your affections on someone who is not interested and let your imagination run wild, putting on an act of being deeply devoted. I especially don¡¯t like you trying to remove others and saying that it is for my sake. Lie Zhen, do you understand what I mean?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s tone was indifferent like ice, but it was also sharp enough to make anyone¡¯s heart feel a chill, every word cutting into the other.


    This vermilion bird¡¯s heart ached, and the pain was slowly spreading outwards. He looked at him in a daze, unable to speak for a long time.


    Jiang Zheliu sighed and said; ¡°At least the story of the great devil taking me by force is still a good one to listen to.¡±


    The lake water was rippled by a light breeze, which also ruffled the white hair on his shoulders.


    Jiang Zheliu touched his hair, he did not wait for a response from Lie Zhen, but he was suddenly grabbed by the wrist.


    On his wrist he was still wearing the ink-colored bracelet with the dense seal and devilish patterns. Lie Zhen noticed the devilish pattern on it at a glance. He suddenly began to harden up, he thought that it was some kind of confinement spell or controlling devilish tool. He was afraid that this was some sort of ploy left by Wen Renye, that he could not help but want to take a closer look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu also reacted, his heart skipped a beat, he only had enough time to say ¡°don¡¯t¡±, then he felt Lie Zhen¡¯s fingers touch the bracelet.

 CH 23

    Thunderclouds rolled over.


    Jiang Zheliu could not see, so he could only rely on feeling and smell, he could feel that Wen Renye was standing before him.


    And the moment he appeared, all the noise around seemed to have stopped. He heard the subtle, distinct sound of water droplets flowing and falling drop by drop.


    Jiang Zheliu instinctively felt that something was wrong.


    The smell of sweet fresh blood spread out in all directions.


    Wen Renye was standing directly in front of Jiang Zheliu. His devil¡¯s body looked even more ferocious than it did previously. The body was covered with hard and hideous blood-colored armour made from bone, the barbs growing out of his bone joints had not yet retracted and his entire body was covered by a devil¡¯s seal markings. Devil energy was continually rotating around his entire body, his bone armour was emitting hot blood, which was dripping off the sharp edges of the armour.


    From where Chang Qian and the others were standing, they could only see the rear view of this hideous and somewhat horrible sight.


    However, Lie Zhen was facing Wen Renye head on, he was faced with a pair of dark purple eyes, as well as the other¡¯s half covered face that had been covered by blood-coloured bone armour.


    The pair of purple horns on his head were covered with patterns, the top of the horns seemed to have been wounded before as if they had suffered through an indescribable battle. The surface of his two horns had cracked, which revealed a reddish colour that was like lava between the cracks.


    It was utterly quiet, even the sound of breathing seemed anxious.


    Wen Renye was holding a long black knife, the blade was stained with dry blood that seemed to be a rust-like dark red. The murderous aura on his body has not faded, and there is a sense of violence and cruelty that is thick to the extreme.


    Merely standing before him in this way, Lie Zhen already felt his hair stand up on end. The feeling was not much different from when he had crossed swords with Jiang Zheliu back then, perhaps the feeling was even more serious.


    Jiang Zheeliu¡¯s nature had always been ice-cold and introverted, but even if he was strong back then, he never exhibited this kind of killing intent that seemed to directly crush Lie Zhen¡¯s chest. Whilst Wen Renye was exhibiting frightful devilish energy, when he was looking at Lie Zhen, it was like he was looking at the animal to be slaughtered.


    It wasn¡¯t just Lie Zhen, even the four kids who were pressed against the doorframe also felt this crushing feeling. Ah-Chu reached out to cover over Chang Qian¡¯s eyes, tensely swallowing, afraid to even breathe too loudly.


    Jiang Zheliu felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right this time, he was fiddling with his handwarmer when he said£º¡°Wen Renye¡­¡­¡±


    Instead he was met with the sound of a few footsteps which abruptly stopped and started.


    Wen Renye didn¡¯t speak.


    In the next moment, a strong and very impactful devilish energy surged from all around and poured violently into the water. Lie Zhen was sucked into the bottom of the lake by this devilish energy, the entire lake began to vibrate.


    If possible, the flames of the vermilion bird could evaporate this lake. But he was tightly bound by the devilish energy sent by Wen Renye, and in a brief moment of deadlock unfolded his crimson wings and wrapped himself abruptly with them.


    The more Jiang Zheliu listened to this the more he thought that the situation was getting serious£¬but it wasn¡¯t because of his good friend who thought too much, but because of Wen Renye¡¯s reaction just now.


    The phoenix feathers fell and withered, the Vermilion Bird floated up from the lake, opening up his crimson wings. In the next instant, the billowing devilish energy wrapped up the vermilion bird, and then Wen Renye grabbed the bird by the neck.


    The palm of his hand was scalding hot.


    But the devil in front of him did not even blink, the pitch-black knife travelled across the air, inch by inch, and then stabbed into the shoulder blade of the vermilion bird, shattering his hollow bones.


    Jiang Zheliu could smell burning.


    He was feeling a little worried, he groped around with his hand behind Wen Renye£¬until he finally felt Wen Renye¡¯s black cloak. He gripped the outer cloak and gave it a tug£¬he frowned and said£º¡°Little monster£¿What are you doing?¡±


    Wen Renye relaxed his hand, his purple eyes deepened in colour, he remembered that Jiang Zheliu did not permit him to kill this bird, the black blade in his hand also paused.


    And it was in this moment that Lie Zhen was able to break free from the clutches of the devilish energy, after having a large chunk of his wing sliced off by the black blade, he escaped from Wen Renye¡¯s clutches in a blink of an eye.


    A splendid fiery red re-painted the clouds once more.


    The palm of Wen Renye¡¯s hand had been scalded by the heat from the Vermilion Bird£¬there was a smell of burnt flesh and the hot blood was dripping drop by drop onto the ground.


    He turned around and looked at Jiang Zheliu who had still lost his sight, the blood-red armour made from bone Ò»Ò» was retracted, his devil horns disappeared and he changed back into his usual human form.


    However, the smell of his fresh blood was too intense, there was no way to cover it up. Wen Renye didn¡¯t want to dirty him, the hand that was previously holding the blade went to hold the other¡¯s hand. He said quietly: ¡°I got rid of him.¡±


    He almost killed him.


    Jiang Zheliu could smell the blood on the other¡¯s body, he hadn¡¯t had a chance to ask about it when he was already scooped up by the other.


    Wen Renye held him with much care, even the smell of blood on his body was slowly vanishing. Jiang Zheliu grabbed his collar, whilst Wen Renye carried him back into his room£¬and put him on the edge of the bed.


    ¡°¡­¡­You haven¡¯t finished up in the Devil Realm.¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°Your energy doesn¡¯t seem regulated. Were you guys¡­¡­fighting in the Xuan Tongju Gate?¡±


    He had indeed been fighting but he had been fighting alone.


    Although the giant python creature was not particularly intelligent, it was terribly strong, which was one of the reasons why his father had given up the resurrection stone back then. In fact, the spiritual beasts who guarded all the treasures were all extremely powerful, so even the devils had to unite to encircle and annihilate in full strength.


    Just three quarters of an hour ago, in the second Xuan Tongju Gate where ten miles of flowers had flourished, split to form a gorge, creating a ditch straight into the ground of more than 700 zhang deep1.


    The beastly skull of the python was beheaded by Wen Renye under his sword, and its corrosive blood splattered all over the bone armour covering his body.


    Wen Renye did not reply, instead, he took out a pendant from inside of his robes near his heart. The string used to thread the stone was a simple braided string£¬the quality of the material was unknown£¬and the resurrection stone that was set in the centre was a milky colour with wisps of blue floating outwards£¬stirring with vitality£¬becoming clearer with the air.


    He leaned down and put the resurrection stone on the neck of Jiang Zheliu.


    The loop at the back of the knot was somewhat difficult to fasten, and the scent of Wen Renye as he leant past Jiang Zheliu¡¯s ears kept spreading, settling, and surging in ¡­¡­ just like warm spring water.


    Jiang Zheliu almost immediately felt a breath of rich vitality fused with his physique, he raised his hand and touched the resurrection stone dangling below his collarbone, and already guessed what had happened. He raised his hand and suddenly took hold of Wen Renye¡¯s wrist.


    Jiang Zheliu could not see, so in this moment he frowned, whilst half groping upwards, touching the wound on the other¡¯s arm where the blood had already clotted.


    His heart felt a bit uncomfortable, coupled with hidden bursts of pain, but this was not visible on his face at all, so he just continued to grope upward.


    On the other¡¯s arm, there were countless wounds and injuries. There were some wounds which had just stopped bleeding, some that had almost healed. Even with the healing qualities of a devil¡¯s body, it was impossible that the injuries did not hurt.


    Jiang Zheliu took a deep breath and wondered why he was getting so angry, even the hand warmer in his palm felt in the way, he put the hand warmer to the side and said in a light tone, ¡°If a half-step Golden Immortal Devil can be injured during an official attack on the Xuan Tongju Gate, the Devil race really cannot afford to say that they are brave and unmatched.¡±


    He raised his hand, untied the pendant from his neck and put it in Wen Renye¡¯s hand, ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡±


    Wen Renye was stunned for a moment, looking at the other¡¯s pale, colorless lips, he would never have thought that this would have happened. He subconsciously squeezed the other¡¯s hand, but forgot that his own hand had been burned by the flames of the vermilion bird just before.


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t move, and instead squeezed back the other¡¯s hand, he was extremely familiar with this kind of vermilion bird burn. He resisted for a long time, before slowly letting out a deep breath, and said: ¡°I do not want you to get injured for me, not even a little bit.¡±


    ¡°Zheliu.¡± Wen Renye said£¬¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, my recovery ability is very strong. By the time your eyes have recovered, I¡¯ll definitely be healed, I will not let you see¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Wen Renye.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu interrupted him, his tone becoming even colder.


    ¡°Just because I don¡¯t see it, does that mean it didn¡¯t happen? You hid this kind of thing from me to go and grab this thing, and you even lied to me that you didn¡¯t get injured, Devil Lord, I really hate you suffering2 in the name of your own wishful thinking.¡±


    Wen Renye stood up, his hand was still clutching the ice cold pendant, he looked at Jiang Zheliu for a moment, the burns on his palm and the temperature of the resurrection stone mixed together.


    ¡°Suffering in the name of my own wishful thinking?¡± He repeated in a low voice, he was also starting to feel his rage bubbling up inside.


    ¡°How many times do you want me to say that whatever I do for you, I do it because I want to do it. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s suffering, I think that you ¨C¡±


    He couldn¡¯t finish his sentence for a moment, he paced back and forth beside the other before he said with full agitation and anger: ¡°You simply don¡¯t dare to accept other people¡¯s kindness, you don¡¯t even want to accept me!¡±


    His words were really a bit childish, but it was the most serious sentence he had said to Jiang Zheliu. Wen Renye was infuriated by this rejection and spun around again in front of him before he slapped the pendant down on the table.


    ¡°Jiang Zheliu, Why don¡¯t you want this? I have already said, I will soon recover from my injuries. I¡¯ve already retrieved it now, can¡¯t you just listen to me!¡±


    He was angry, Jiang Zheliu was even angrier than him, but the latter exhibited little expression, so on the surface it was also not visible. Jiang Zheliu was still blindfolded with the long silk, he untied the cloak on his shoulders, wearing only thin robes he sat on top of the soft bed, he took in a slow breath, before calmly saying: ¡°You treat me well, I can accept that. But I don¡¯t agree with you treating me well without measure. I¡¯m not used to being cared for in this way, and I don¡¯t deserve to be treated this way.¡±


    ¡°Are you out of your f*cking mind?¡± The little devil lord was so angry that he wanted to smash the table. He pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Jiang Zheliu, closed his eyes and neutralized his tone before continuing, ¡°Only if I act this way, will you have the chance to get used to it. It¡¯s not up to you to decide whether you deserve it or not, it¡¯s up to me.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked up towards the direction of the sound of the other¡¯s voice. He stayed silent for a long time, and then said: ¡°I am afraid you ¡­¡­ you ¡­¡­¡±


    Wen Renye did not have any propriety, but he did, the other party was just not aware, but he knew.


    Jiang Zheliu had seen from the subtle roots that he was showing signs of harming the other¡¯s life.


    Jiang Zheliu sighed and whispered, ¡°You should not do this kind of thing again, it¡¯s not worth it.¡±


    His hand was clutched, the other¡¯s eyes were stirring and crazed to the point of obsession.


    ¡°Who are you to say such things to me again.¡± Wen Renye was about to get angry with him, he didn¡¯t even dare to raise his voice to Jiang Zheliu, ¡°Worthy or not, it is upto me to decide. You just need to accept it. I said that I¡¯d treat you well, so I will treat you well for the rest of my life¡­¡­¡±


    Before the words had left his mouth, that ice-cold hand between his palms had been gently retracted.


    Jiang Zheliu did not listen to him further, he backed up a bit inside the bed, lying with his back to him, as if he was not going to say anything else.


    Wen Renye really did not understand why Jiang Zheliu was so angry that he had been injured but this person could not be forced, he could only sit on the chair next to the bed his entire body emanating with coldness, with a gloomy look on his face as he stared at the table where the resurrection stone lay.


    After another small moment, just when Wen Renye thought Jiang Zheliu was asleep, he suddenly heard the other¡¯s voice very softly say.


    ¡°¡­¡­ Burns from the flames of the Vermilion bird need to be treated with an ice compress of glazed glass powder, don¡¯t forget that.¡±


    The little devil didn¡¯t answer, and only after a moment did he answer with a huff and then turned around and left.


    The beaded curtain had been crashed into, making a crunching and crashing sound of the beads, just like the strumming of the heartstrings.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The atmosphere in Dan Xin Monastery has been a bit off lately.


    It wasn¡¯t only Yu Jinnian that thought so, even the two ginseng children could also feel it. Usually the Devil Lord was fearful of even holding Xianzun¡¯s hand for fear of breaking it, afraid of putting him in his mouth for fear of him melting3, but the last two days, these two people had not exchanged so much as a word.


    Even Ah-Chu and Chang Qian also felt like this, their living environment had become even more precarious, and the atmosphere in the whole room was stagnant and frightening.


    But Jiang Zheliu¡¯s attitude was not very obvious, he was still quietly drinking tea and medicine, occasionally carrying his beloved small chair out to sit in the sun.


    ¡­¡­ Although the fish in that lake were now avoiding him.


    Even though Chang Qian had his eyes covered Ah-Chu that day, he was actually the one who knew the most about Wen Renye in the entire Dan Xin Monastery. That day when he saw his little uncle in full bone armour, with devil horns out, Chang Qian had been stunned, he instantly knew that his little uncle had gone to battle in Xuan Tongju Gate.


    It was only after a powerful battle at the Xuan Tongju Gate that could cause a half-step Golden Immortal to be injured to this extent. And the usual devils who went to battle at the gates were usually assisted by formations and even had more help from other clans, so even if there was a powerful creature inside the Gates, it could still be killed without the devils being harmed.


    Jiang Zheliu sucked on the candied fruit to dispel the bitterness, he thought that the aftertaste of this stuff was too sweet, he had just swallowed to speak, but he felt a slight gust of wind as if the other had already left.


    Chang Qian turned his head to peek at his little uncle who was sitting back at the window, and then he heard the voice of Jiang Zheliu.


    ¡°¡­¡­Xiao Chang, pass me my tea.¡± Jiang Zheliu¡¯s tongue tingled slightly, ¡°It¡¯s so sweet, it¡¯s salty.¡±


    Wen Renye£º¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Why does this person have so many issues! I¡¯ll bring him a different kind of candy next time!


    Chang Qian nodded in accordance with his words, from the table he poured a cup out from the teapot, but the temperature in the porcelain cup was a little low, and cold tea would be even more bitter.


    Jiang Zheliu could even drink the bitter medicine, so naturally he would not care about this problem. He took the porcelain cup and held it in his hand before taking a sip, and then it was taken away again.


    After a few breaths, the tea cup that became warm again was stuffed back into his hand, and the temperature of the tea was even the perfect temperature.


    Jiang Zheliu had just thanked him when he heard the anxious and tense voice of Wen Renye.


    ¡°Demonic energy.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu£º¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­Demonic energy? Is he talking about me?


    He took a sip, and then took another sip, but he couldn¡¯t resist any longer and finally asked Chang Qian very quietly: ¡°What does he mean by that?¡±


    Chang Qian looked at his little uncle who was trying to suppress his anger, and then over to the fragile and exquisite grand beauty in front of him, he didn¡¯t not know what to say to this life-saving question, so after thinking about it for a long time he finally said: ¡°The meaning is¡­¡­he likes you.¡±

 CH 24

    Chang Qian was dragged out and beaten by his little uncle for being a master of reading between the lines.


    The little snake was constrained by a tyrannical power, he learnt what it meant to have ¡°one¡¯s lips saying one thing but one¡¯s body language to reveal what one was really think¡±, but a tsundere devil¡¯s thoughts must never be exposed ¡­¡­ Chang Qian learned that lesson the hard way and gave up the difficult task of delivering medicine back to Ah-Chu.


    But no matter who it was who delivered the medicine, the atmosphere between these two people was still extraordinarily bizarre. There was also an indescribable scent drifting in the wind.


    Jiang Zheliu had always been very calm, but he hadn¡¯t quite understood his own fickle temper, and how he had annoyed the little devil ¡­¡­ According to his usual behaviour, he had never fallen out with someone to this extent.


    Wen Renye¡¯s injuries quickly recovered and healed, the physique of a Devil was always strong, and did not require much rest to recover. It was just that there was a cold war going on between these two people, and they had rarely exchanged words.


    The thing that incited this cold war was lying quietly on the table, it was so infused with vitality that the wood was almost at the point of sprouting new life. Wen Renye stared at it all day long, but he never picked it up, as if this treasure that he had spent so much effort obtaining was just an ordinary stone that could be casually thrown away.


    Ah-Chu stayed quiet and didn¡¯t intervene, he would never have dared to touch this treasure. When he was sitting on the edge of the bed blowing on the cool medicine, he suddenly heard the quiet voice of Jiang Zheliu.


    ¡°There are flowers blooming.¡±


    Ah-Chu stopped in his tracks then turned to look out of the window. There really was verdant Boston Ivy and vine, with a single withered Moonflower that was lying on the window pane, stubbornly trying to enter into the room.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Ah Chu said, ¡°Later when we go back, we can plant some flowers on Zhongnan Mountain, and we can also raise some small animals, those mountain spirits and wild animals will really like gege.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu took the medicine bowl, smiled gently, and said, ¡°Okay.¡±


    His voice was very calm, bringing with it a hint of unusual softness. His hair fluttered from the light breeze coming through the window, he had a very faint smile on his lips. Even when they were talking about this rather promising topic, he still looked light as a feather as if he could be blown anyway at any moment.


    Ah-Chu was momentarily stumped, unable to speak. He looked at Jiang Zheliu in a daze for a moment before saying, ¡°¡­¡­ You¡¯ll get better, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Ah-Chu was too anxious to make things clearer and added, ¡°Well, you are the most cared for person in this world, you will definitely get better, you have to believe me!¡±


    That was certainly a lofty statement. Jiang Zheliu quietly listened, then leaned a few inches closer, and asked quietly: ¡°How can I believe you?¡±


    This kind of offensive beauty at close range, was simply a critical hit to the system. Ah-Chu felt his blood quickly emptying, leaving only a thin layer of blood under the skin struggling to support itself. He stammered a little, numbly staring at the curves of the other¡¯s lips which were right under his nose, he blushed whilst his heart continued to beat at an unprecedented rate, almost to this point where he was about to reveal the entire plot.


    Just at that moment, when he felt that his willpower had depleted, he found his body was lighter than air, he had been lifted up by one hand by the back of his collar and he was thrown outside the window with one crisp movement.


    *Plonk*


    The little deer who had still not woken up from his lascivious thoughts crashed into the Boston Ivy and was stabbed by the Moonflower that had been growing against the windowpane.


    Smells so good ¡­¡­ Ah-chu froze again.


    It was not the flower fragrance that smelt good, but being outside, especially amongst the flora he discovered, that the milky white stone with floating blue wisps which had been placed in the room for less than two days, with the addition of the scent of the heavenly spirit body of Shenxian gege was simply so sweet. It was like a wonderfully delicious cupcake that could make any living thing act in this way¡­¡­


    Ah-Chu treated his Shenxian gege as the protagonist so he did not feel that there was anything wrong with this. He just clapped his hands before climbing back up from the window and then went to the small kitchen to find Chang Qian ¨C so that they could complain together about the big devil¡¯s evil deeds.


    Just as the little deer and the little snake were b*tching about the great Devil, Jiang Zheliu felt that he was being watched.


    Wen Renye seemed to have lost his cool.


    But Jiang Zheliu was too calm, resulting in the little devil becoming even more apprehensive, but he still didn¡¯t overstep the bounds.


    But Jiang Zheliu¡¯s voice was soft, so calm that it was not possible to hear any fluctuations, accompanied by the icy snow-like energy from his body which slowly spread open, poking Wen Renye straight in his heart, firmly suppressing that tiny smidgen of agitation that remained.


    ¡°I want¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu waited for him to finish.


    But the end of this sentence never came, Wen Renye¡¯s hand wrapped around the other¡¯s shoulder, then looped around his neck to put the pendant back on his body with a small, crisp click of the clasp.


    The energy of the Resurrection Stone surged over his body, it fit perfectly with Jiang Zheliu¡¯s heavenly spirit body, nearly fusing into one.


    Jiang Zheliu did not speak, he was embraced by Wen Renye, the other was pressed up against his shoulder, his voice was quiet: ¡°You are not allowed to return it to me.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu knew he couldn¡¯t talk Wen Renye out of it, so he didn¡¯t take it off again, but still sighed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste your kind intentions, but I just want to tell you not to do this kind of thing for me again, I won¡¯t like it.¡±


    He spoke gently, even if what he had said was not too pleasant, it did not provoke the little devil¡¯s temper.


    He heard Wen Renye¡¯s voice in his ear, it was somewhat muffled.


    ¡°And I¡¯m also not angry at you, I just want to tell you too that I am willing to do this for you, there was neither gain nor loss.¡±


    ¡°If you really don¡¯t want me to lose more than I gain,¡± said Wen Renye, ¡°then don¡¯t make me regret it and don¡¯t reject me.¡±


    ¡°You ¡­¡­ urm ¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu just said a word, then he felt the familiarity of the other¡¯s soul, the other¡¯s primordial spirit was thick and strong, and incredibly tense, and easily permeated and enveloped him entirely.


    Every wisp and detail of the other¡¯s emotions could be perceived thoroughly and completely.


    Jiang Zheliu felt that the other was too close, his fragile soul had been wrapped in an embrace, being carefully ironed over, and then hidden deep within the other¡¯s primordial spirit.


    ¡­¡­ The method of divine interconnection, give him an inch and he¡¯d take a mile.


    The dependency aspect of this technique was too strong, Jiang Zheliu couldn¡¯t help being enveloped by him, he wasn¡¯t even able to utter the word ¡°no¡±, he could only clutch the other¡¯s sleeve, as the other held him in his arms.


    After a short time of intermingling, his body was out of strength and his physique felt as if it was being melted by this feeling of rubbing that made him buckle at the knees. He turned his head to bury himself in the arms of Wen Renye to slowly even out his breath.


    ¡°¡­¡­ Despicable.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu slowed down breathing and then slowly said, ¡°¡­¡­ using this method to not allow me to refuse.¡±


    For the Devil Lord, that word was almost considered a compliment. Wen Renye was still embracing him and holding on to his waist, he was very close to him, using a lame logic, he asked: ¡°Were you not comfortable?¡±


    ¡­¡­ Comfortable, it was very comfortable, the effectiveness of the divine interconnection restoration technique was still very useful, but it was a little too tiring.


    Jiang Zheliu did not answer this, he was a little sleepy, after a while, he said in a low voice: ¡°Don¡¯t move around, be quiet and go to sleep with me.¡±


    That one word from Jiang Zheliu had a lot of impact1, all of a sudden occupying the mind of the Devil Lord, the latter swallowed and had a feeling that the entire Devil Realm would be as proud as he was.


    Wen Renye held the other¡¯s hand, then leaned in and kissed the long silk covering the other¡¯s eyes: ¡°Okay, go to sleep then.¡±


    Under the tranquil moonlight, Wen Renye looped his arm around Jiang Zheliu¡¯s waist a little tighter. The waist under the palm of his hand was very narrow, like a twig off a weightless willow branch, silently perched in his arms.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Early next morning.


    If it was not for the fact that Chang Qian had been accompanying Jiang Zheliu the whole time, he might have also thought that Jiang Zheliu was really being held hostage by some villainous great devil. He watched with a blank face as his little uncle stared at his shenxian gege, the former¡¯s gaze never moved away.


    He put the medicinal food on the table, and elbowed Ah-Chu, whispering: ¡°What happened last night? Did they make up?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Ah-Chu¡¯s eyes were sparkling when he looked over, ¡°Maybe this is what¡¯s called a sweet and sour love affair!¡±


    Chang Qian: ¡°¡­¡­ You¡¯re so excited that you¡¯re salivating.¡±


    Ah-Chu subconsciously touched the corner of his mouth and was about to retort, but before he could say anything, they heard two knocks at the door, and the ginseng child wearing a gray and pink daoist robe poked her head through the door and said a little anxiously, ¡°Jiang Xianzun, the Monastery Master told me to tell you that you should not go out today.¡±


    She looked up to take a look around, she stopped talking for a moment, whilst looking at the devilish energy coming from the big devil who was stopping the beautiful and sickly Jiang Xianzun from speaking, almost proving the image that¡°that band of sanctimonious sons of a b*tch¡¯s words were indeed accurate about him¡±.


    ¡°They won¡¯t stop until they see me.¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°If this group of people really knelt outside Dan Xin Monastery, will you really kill them one after the other?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was a little choked up by the little devil¡¯s reply, and discovered that this person did not really care about keeping the peace between the two Realms.


    ¡°If you slaughter them one after the other.¡± Jiang Zheliu slowly said, ¡°It can really be said that you will be the world¡¯s greatest monster, the world¡¯s worst enemy would not an exaggeration, and I will become the sinner who tempted you to kill all those people.¡±


    ¡°Sinner, do you really care about your reputation that much?¡± Wen Renye looked down at him, ¡°Everything you¡¯ve done all those years to build up this reputation still hasn¡¯t prevented these sanctimonious people from kicking their benefactor in the teeth ¡­¡­¡±


    A finger pressed up against his lips.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s fingers were slightly cold, but his voice was calm and relaxed, as if he was talking about an insignificant matter.


    ¡°What I mind is your reputation.¡±


    How can a person who was the world¡¯s worst enemy become the Master of the Six Realms? Wen Renye occupied the right time and the right place, he should be the one with the most promise, and should not because of this be led off course.


    There was a time he thought that the devil race was insidious and cunning, brutal and unforgiving, only to find in the end that all of those cold people that he had once met may not even be as candid and pure as this great devil.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Dan Xin Monastery, Main Hall.


    Yu Jinnian¡¯s daoist robe was loose-fitting, his long hair was tied up with a turquoise ribbon, he propped up his chin looking at the band of people in front of him, he was actually starting to lose his patience.


    There were about ten people before him, either standing and sitting, and of varying ages. It seemed each sect had sent a representative, and each one had a wooden seal representing their particular sect hanging from their waists.


    Among them, the one with the highest status was the Junior Pavilion Lord Jin of the Wushuang Jian Pavilion, behind him stood an Elder with profound cultivation, he was unable to determine to what degree, but he was carrying a sword box embedded with precious stones on his back.


    Wushuang Jian Pavilion, Lan Re Temple, Han Dao Sect, Wan Gu Sect¡­¡­


    Zhu Wuxin of the Ling Xiao Sect had not come, it was unknown the cause of this but a female Elder of the sect had come in his stead. Wang Wenyuan of Tianji Pavilion also had not come. Wang Wenyuan was quick-witted, he should have already figured out that he had poisoned, so he had only sent two Tianji Pavilion representatives.


    And Lan Re Temple, who had been avoiding worldly affairs and rarely made appearance outside, had sent Zen Master2, Ming Jing.


    The words of these people were perhaps true or perhaps they were false, and perhaps some of them were really worried about Jiang Zheliu before they came. Yu Jinnian observed from the sidelines for a moment and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not willing to let you see him, but Xianzun, he ¡­¡­¡±


    He hadn¡¯t finished telling lies when the bamboo curtain that was hanging down was rolled up.


    The crowd turned their heads to see the curtain woven with fine bamboo had been pulled up to reveal the snow-white hem of a daoist robe, which had an embroidery pattern of pine and bamboo. As the bamboo curtain was completely pulled up, the room became more and more silent.


    For most of the people here, it was the first time that they had seen Jiang Zheliu in such a state.


    Even the sound of breathing gradually quietened down, as if they are afraid of disturbing something. In the long silence, there was only the sound Buddhist beads moving gently, which stopped and started, before gradually sounding again.


    Many people were looking at his eyes, but many more were afraid to look.


    ¡°I am not seriously hurt.¡± Jiang Zheliu said indifferently, ¡°You can all go back.¡±


    No one answered.


    After a few moments, the female cultivator of Wan Gu Sect who was holding the poisonous insect silently lifted the hem of her robe and knelt before him, even though she knew that he could not see: ¡°For the kindness of saving our lives, Qianbei, the entire Wan Gu Sect is grateful, you have done us a great kindness. This time, I only wish to ask you whether the Devil lord, Wen Renye has treated you harshly. If this is the case, even if we risk our lives, we will not let you suffer.¡±


    As she spoke, more representatives of the various sects lifted their robes and knelt down, thanking him for the kindness of saving their lives. Most of them were small sects, they had since a long time ago, only obeyed his word.


    On the contrary, no one from the four great Immortal Sects moved, aside from Lan Re Temple¡¯s Zen Master Ming Jing who also followed the others in a deep bow.


    Although Jiang Zheliu could not see for the time being, his senses were still keen, and he could sense from where the voice came from. He knew that this female cultivator of the Wan Gu Sect had made a great salute. He dropped his hand to support the other to come up and explained calmly, ¡°There is no such thing, the Devil Lord, Wen Renye is an old friend, my ¡­¡­ good friend.¡±


    He hesitated for a rare moment before the words ¡°good friend¡±.


    This was the first time that female cultivator had encountered Jiang Xianzun himself, originally she could still force herself to keep a serious face, but after touching his cold fingertips, she was immediately pulled in by his indefinable aura, she stared blankly for a moment, before stammering, said: ¡°Since, since this is the case, then it must be someone spreading baseless rumours, Xianzun ¡­¡­¡±


    She was blushing a lot, her centuries old heart began to beat uncontrollably, the little deer in her heart that should have died many years ago followed its beat blindly crashing about, just as the redness on her body had reached its peak, she suddenly saw by a pair of purple eyes behind Jiang Zheliu staring at her.


    The killing intent spread out in all four directions, making everyone break out in a cold sweat.


    The female cultivator snapped awake, jumped up and took a big step back, her back was soaked in cold sweat.


    It wasn¡¯t only her, in the moment that Wen Renye had appeared, many eyes which had already been on Jiang Zheliu were forced to retreat a few steps backwards. Those sect representatives who had been staring at Jiang Zheliu unwilling to revert their eyes were terribly startled, they immediately pulled back their gaze and recited several times to themselves ¡°there is a knife above the character lust¡±5.


    The crowd finally met this Devil Lord, Wen Renye.


    Originally, many sects were very trusting of Jiang Zheliu, not to mention obedient. But as soon as they saw Wen Renye, the fierce and vicious monster, that image of the evil devil who ate people without salt, their minds began to wander, making people immediately associate him and evoking with it that so-called rumour.


    They watched as this Great Devil took Jiang Qianbei¡¯s hand.


    ¡­¡­How could this be£¡


    No way, let go of him!!

 CH 25

    Jiang Zheliu could not perceive how terrible the aura that Wen Renye was actually giving off.


    He even thought the other was very well-behaved, he even thought that Wen Renye was incredibly easy to get along with. He was completely oblivious to what those righteous sects were seeing before them.


    ¡°Xian, Xianzun¡­¡­¡± The female cultivator from before trembled and then swallowed, ¡°Are you really¡­¡­not being held captive?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu patiently explained again, the expression on his face was much more relaxed than before. He mistakenly thought it was because he was once too cold, as well as too righteous and taciturn to communicate with people that it often made others afraid.


    But these righteous sect juniors were not afraid of him, instead they were actually obsessed with him. Their heads filled up with obscure and weird thoughts. The respect and admiration was mingled with the charming and gentle stirrings evoked by the Heavenly Spirit Body, simply put it was a toad lusting after the flesh of a swan, the uglier the person, the more lecherous they were1.


    Whilst Jiang Zheliu explained, there was a fierce devil standing next to him, even if some of these people found it hard to believe, they still had to say thank you and take their leave one by one, plus each one of them had to pour out their deep gratitude and admiration for Jiang Zheliu before they left, he listened to these implied words wave after wave, making him feel sleepy.


    Only after the smaller sects had withdrawn from Dan Xin Monastery, did Zen Master Ming Jing of Lan Re Temple step forward, chanting a Buddhist hymn and then handing Jiang Zheliu a fortune stick.


    Ming Jing¡¯s shifu, who was the former abbot of Lan Re Temple, once had a friendship with Jiang Zheliu, but the abbot had passed away during his Heavenly Tribulation, and had died more than three hundred years ago.


    Jiang Zheliu once took care of Ming Jing, and could also be considered as someone who had watched him grow up. He took the fortune stick, and rubbed it between his fingers for a moment, then slowly read out the words on it silently:


    A thousand years in the cold trembling snow, still unwilling to see the luminescent night.


    Forever illuminating and chasing from sunset to daybreak, life¡¯s dream is but a double oath2.


    Before Jiang Zheliu opened his mouth, Ming Jing said: ¡°I calculated this for Qianbei over several days, before I got this answer.¡±


    He glanced over at Wen Renye by Jiang Zheliu¡¯s side, and then turned back to look at Jiang Zheliu, slightly uneasy, he said: ¡°Qianbei has his own way to interpret the answer, I do not dare to say more, I just hope that Qianbei will take care.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu fondled with the fortune stick and said, ¡°Thank you for your help. I already have an idea in mind, you can go back now.¡±


    Zen Master Ming Jing bowed once more, then left Dan Xin Monastery whilst chanting Buddha¡¯s mantra.


    Subsequently, the Elders and other representatives on behalf of the Tianji Pavilion and Ling Xiao Sect also came forward to pay their respects one by one. At this moment the Monastery had completely cleared out, with only Jin Yujie standing not far away silently, the old man standing behind him raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder, the Junior Pavilion Lord of the Wushuang Jian Pavilion, who was dressed all in gold came forward apprehensively, he bowed and saluted: ¡°¡­¡­ Qianbei.¡±


    His old dad, Jin Changming saw Jiang Zheliu as his great benefactor, since the year that Jiang Zheliu saved Jin Yujie from the river in the Netherworld, so those out of ordinary thoughts that Jin Yujie had in his mind he would absolutely never dare to share with his father. In his father¡¯s eyes, this boy was simply like the youngest son of Jiang Zheliu, creating such a scandal for the other¡¯s reputation was disobedient, and he needed to ask for forgiveness.


    As soon as Jiang Zheliu heard the tone of the other¡¯s voice, he had already guessed what the other was thinking. He let Jin Yujie finish before speaking, ¡°Do you really know that you were wrong?¡±


    Jin Yujie was like an eggplant hit by the frost3: ¡°Truly, this junior knows that I was wrong.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu nodded and suddenly said: ¡°Then what did you mean when you said before that you wanted me to relax the requirements?¡±


    His words were said in such a cold manner that Jin Yujie immediately got goosebumps, and his head was buzzing. Not far away, his old dad, Jin Changming also froze, and then knocked the cane in his hand against the floor with a bang, before immediately going forth to pick up the back of the collar of the little brat.


    ¡°What did you say to Jiang Qianbei?!¡±


    Jin Changming was originally not going to say anything, to let that little bat show off his sincerity in front of Jiang Xianzun for once but after hearing this, he couldn¡¯t hold back. Jiang Zheliu had watched this little brat grow up, his evil intentions had been clearly revealed, how was it any different from trying to sleep with his adoptive father? It was simply a reckless disregard for human decency.


    ¡°Xianzun has taught you nothing.¡± Jin Changming was so angry that even some of his beard had fallen out, ¡°I might as well just kill you now, how did I raise such an evil scourge like you! My whole life¡¯s reputation has been completely ruined by you, you little brat!¡±


    Just when Jin Changming was almost about to hit him, Jiang Zheliu coughed lightly and said indifferently, ¡°So the Pavilion Lord is also here.¡±


    Jin Changming immediately withdrew his hand, turned to take a closer look at Jiang Zheliu for a while, before turning to Yu Jinnian to make sure that Jiang Zheliu¡¯s eye problem was only a temporary issue. Then held Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand and said in a complicated mood, ¡°Zheliu, you must not take this brat¡¯s words to heart, you have taught him and have also saved his life, he actually remembers ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Wen Renye dryly received the sword box from the hands of Jin Changming, he closed the wooden box and put it into his storage ring. He inclined his head and said: ¡°I¡¯ve put it away for you, it¡¯s so heavy, if you hold it now your hands will be sore.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Take a look, this was the person who said he was fussy, everyone please help be a judge.


    Jin Changming glanced at the Devil Lord next to him, with his old eyes, he could see more clearly than this group of juniors. In his opinion, it was clear that Wen Renye¡¯s attitude towards Jiang Zheliu was very different, at least for the time being, Jiang Xianzun showed no signs of being forced, let alone threatened.


    He turned his gaze and took another look at his untalented son and let out a long sigh, saying: ¡°I am old, but my cultivation realm has not advanced at all, so I have no hope in the immortal path. The people in the Cultivation World either had a compassionate heart, or are too indecisive to kill. Those who are like Zen Master Ming Jing are empty of talent without vision, vile and selfish but wholly unaware of themselves. Those visionaries who can take on great responsibility ¡­¡­ such as you, are indeed rare.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said: ¡°There is also you, Pavilion Lord.¡±


    Jin Changming waved his hand repeatedly: ¡°My Heavenly Tribulation was incomplete, the next time will be the Lightning Tribulation which is when my soul returns to Heaven and Earth. I intend to remain just, but I am powerless to do so.¡±


    He is not the only one who had good intentions but powerless to action.


    Is that what ¡­¡­. a physician¡¯s heart should be used for?


    ¡°Ok, ok, you ¡­¡­¡± Yu Jinnian said half his phrase and suddenly paused for a moment, he stood up to get a better feel of things, gazing at Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body, and then went over and walked around him, ¡°Eh, your, this body ¡­¡­¡±


    He said whilst leaning closer, lowering his head until the tip of his nose was about to touch the other¡¯s shoulder, but then he was coldly pushed away by a large devil¡¯s claw.


    Yu Jinnian did not care, but continued to stare at Jiang Zheliu for a long time, he patted Wen Renye¡¯s shoulder with smugness: ¡°I do not know whether to congratulate you or sympathize with you first ¡­¡­ Heavenly spiritual body and resurrection stone together ¨C This energy is too large, I am a pure-blooded human, but my sense of smell is a little sharper than normal people. I can obviously feel it ¡­¡­ If it were a demon ¡­¡­¡±


    When he said this, he remembered that Wen Renye was a pure devil, and his smugness turned into astonishment, saying with great admiration, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you could resist.¡±


    Wen Renye looked at him blankly, ¡°And if I can¡¯t resist?¡±


    Yu Jinnian smiled and looked over, capitalising on his identity as a physician, his every word was very ferocious: ¡°Then of course, it¡¯s up to Jiang Qianbei to castrate you.¡±


    Wen Renye was not angry, but subconsciously turned his gaze to look at Jiang Zheliu. Since putting the resurrection stone on him last night, the scent on the other had indeed become more pronounced. The devil race was a bit better than the demon race. But this scent could be comparable to the temptation of eating something that will lead to immortality, it was a wholesome sweet scent.

 CH 26.1

    It was the middle of the night when it all was quiet.


    The water rippled outside of Dan Xin Monastery, like a mirror reflecting wave after wave.


    Yu Jinnian was sitting on top of the seat cushion. The medicine stove beside him was giving off an intense odour. He was holding his horsetail whisk in his other hand, half-hanging over the medicine stove.


    The fragrance of medicine was overwhelming. The little daoist boy was half-running, whilst holding the medicine mortar and medicinal herbs for grinding. The pestle and mortar made a crisp clashing sound as he walked.


    The bright moon entered through the window.


    This pot of medicine needed to collect moonlight before it could come out of the medicine stove. Therefore, at this moment it was being refined. Yu Jinnian swept a glance at the frosty moon before him, fingertips just covering the lid of the stove, he suddenly paused.


    He heard the subtle sound of footsteps.


    Yu Jinnian listened for a moment, withdrew his hand and raised his eyes to look at his late night visitor.


    The other¡¯s footsteps were very slow, it took a moment before the person actually moved into Yu Jinnian¡¯s line of sight. The person who had come was a young man, wearing Tianji Pavilion¡¯s signature robes, which were covered in crests and diagrams of the constellations, he had long black hair and a handsome and distinct appearance.


    ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s you.¡±


    Yu Jinnian swept a glance over him, his mouth twitched£º¡°Wang Wenyuan doesn¡¯t dare to come himself?¡±


    ¡°Xiong-Zhang succumbed to the Cylindrical Heart Powder, he has understood the Divine Sage of Medicine¡¯s thoughts and intentions, so naturally he doesn¡¯t not dare to set foot here again.¡±


    He could not show his worry. That would be showing his weakness to Wang Wenyuan. When the time comes he needed to take initiative and the other would no longer be in his hands.


    Wang Moxuan said: ¡°I only have one close relative left, even though he has treated me a little harshly, I cannot lose him.¡±


    Although this sounded fake, it made Yu Jinnian¡¯s teeth itch3. He looked at Wang Moxuan¡¯s meek face with that I¡¯ll just grin and bear the humiliation attitude and his head began to buzz.


    He wanted to memorise all of the curses, seals, as well as the gu insects on the other¡¯s body and the other traces of poisons, this seemed to be almost ¡ª his only opportunity.


    Aside from that, there would be no other who could help him.


    And¡­¡­ it had been so long that he hadn¡¯t heard the other¡¯s voice.


    Both of their acting skills were not bad, their exchanges and the mood between the two of them had been controlled sufficiently to deceive Wang Wenyuan. Although they only needed to use sound to build the facade, without the need to exchange actual blows, in the end they were still inexperienced.


    Yu Jinnian had his erotic books for guidance, but Wang Moxuan could only use intuition and conjecture, but it still turned out to be just right.


    When the ¡°deed¡± was done, Yu Jinnian had memorised in his head and created a mental map of the curses and other things on the other¡¯s body. He turned his head to look at the dumbfounded ginseng child, and frowned, pursing his lips, to make sure the child did not make a sound.


    After so many years of not being able to see him, their first time meeting again and it turned out to be such an awkward situation. It really was awkward, but the opportunity was hard to come by.


    Wang Moxuan lowered his head and re-dressed, still unable to speak. At this moment the moonlight shifted, the sky had a hint of daybreak.


    ¡°Now can I¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°No you can¡¯t.¡± Yu Jinnian cut him off, ¡°I can give him a temporary pain relief potion to suppress it. If he wants to live two more years, he must find a way to kill Zhu Wuxin. I want Zhu Wuxin to repent before he dies and kowtow in front of Jiang Xianzun to make amends.¡±


    ¡°As for you¡ª¡ª¡±


    He leaned over closer, reached out and rubbed the other side¡¯s lips with his fingers, he didn¡¯t know what came over him but he suddenly leaned in closer and took a bite.


    The bite pierced the skin, a few drops of blood flooded out, and the other¡¯s lips swelled up.

 CH 26.2

    The more the treatment progressed for Jiang Zheliu, the more medication was required.


    The effects of these medicines varied but not one of them could be left out.


    His eyes had finally recovered, which was something worthy of celebration.


    Wen Renye personally removed the long silk blindfold for him, he held the other¡¯s cheeks and stared at him for a while, after a long time he finally said: ¡°¡­¡­ You look even better than before.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was once again able to see the other clearly again, but he still found this intense light to be a little uncomfortable, so he closed his eyes and then re-opened them. He paused for a moment, before answering: ¡°Maybe it¡¯s even better in your dreams.¡±


    He was just joking, but the little devil¡¯s dreams were really about him.


    Wen Renye listened to these words and could not help but think of some messy things he¡¯d dreamt about, just as his devil heart was starting to roam wild, he saw Jiang Zheliu casually slide out a book from the side of the bed.


    On the book cover were clearly written the words ¡¶The Great Way¡·.


    His eyes had gotten better and with it, the pleasure of reading books was restored.


    Wen Renye looked at him with a calm face whilst he began to flick through the pages, he was still thinking about the book that Jiang Zheliu and Yu Jinnian had talked about some days ago. He reached out and put his hand on the edge of one of the pages and asked: ¡°You couldn¡¯t read it before so why did you put it by the bed?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu knew that Wen Renye wanted to read it, and had just asked for the sake of it, so he generously gave him a glance of its content, and calmly said: ¡°To raise up the pillow.¡±


    ¡­¡­ It was a really good practical answer.¡­¡­


    Wen Renye took the book, and reviewed the content issues. His attitude was no different from a strict JJWXC audit, he looked at it for a long time but did not find any content below the neck. Feeling assured that this was just a popular fiction book he gave it back to him.


    The little devil had just sat down feeling reassured when he heard his beloved¡¯s calm-to-the-bone soft inquiry.


    ¡°Your devil race, how exactly do you reproduce?¡±


    Wen Renye¡¯s heart skipped a beat, thinking about the mating methods in the Devil Realm that were hard to reveal and hard to describe, and then he looked at the clear as ice and clean as jade Jiang Zheliu in front of him. He had a feeling that his future prospects were bleak, he hesitantly asked: ¡°Are you really interested?¡±


    Not particularly interested, but the content of the book from Yu Jinnian¡¯s private collection had aroused his curiosity. Jiang Zheliu also just casually asked him but did not expect Wen Renye to really answer, after all, this kind of thing can be counted as private.


    If Wen Renye really wanted to share this private matter with him, he estimated that his unstable bones could probably not bear it.


    The ones he had described just now were hideous, but they were still within Jiang Zheliu¡¯s expectations and not particularly strange.


    He nodded and raised his eyes to look at him, not thinking for a moment about what he would hear next.


    ¡°In the case of the original form, the duration will be very long.¡± Wen Renye whispered, ¡°You will not be able to stand it.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu stopped moving, the base of his ear was unbearably hot, too hot. But as if nothing was out of the ordinary, he picked up the tea from a side table, avoiding the other, he lowered his head to drink a mouthful.


    ¡°There¡¯s a knot in the middle that gets stuck in there.¡± Wen Renye said with a slight pause, ¡°If it¡¯s not moist enough, it will really hurt.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu couldn¡¯t listen to any more of it. Due to his age and experience, even if he saw an erotic picture in front of him usually he would not even bat an eyelid. But when the little devil lord was holding his hand, whilst whispering into his ear about these things, he really felt like he couldn¡¯t take it any longer. It seemed that although he had acquired so much experience reading and looking at those erotic books but it was as if all that experience had been fed to a dog, in its entirety, not even leaving a drop.


    In the end, he should have not been curious about such things just because of that popular science book, the reason why he was so erudite was because his curiosity and desire to know things was relatively strong, he felt that knowing one more thing, was like another additional invisible weight ¡­¡­ But he had now retired, he did not need to exhaust his thoughts and ingenuity for the Ling Xiao Sect, and he did not need to continue this habit of acquiring knowledge with that.


    Jiang Zheliu was slightly vexed, he pondered whilst saying, ¡°Oh so it¡¯s like that, I know now, you do not need to continue ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Although the human form of the devil race is normally constructed, when maintaining this form, devils actually have no ability to reproduce.¡±


    Wen Renye stared at him, ¡°One must at least be partially transformed into devil form to have the ability to reproduce ¡­¡­ except for lust devils.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu felt a little uneasy under his focused gaze, he moved a few inches to the inner side of the bed, and gazed back at him and said: ¡°partially transformed¡­ meaning?¡±


    Wen Renye lowered his head, buried it in his shoulder and paused to take a deep breath, then after another moment, backed off slightly by a few inches.


    Jiang Zheliu saw the devil horns at the top of the other¡¯s head.


    It was not only his partial devil form which was spiritual, there was also the dependency that the two of them had developed as a result of their divine interconnection. Although Jiang Zheliu had been very restrained, his eyes still lingered on the pair of devil horns for a few seconds.


    And Wen Renye who was mindful of the other¡¯s every move, could see the other¡¯s thoughts at a glance, he didn¡¯t mind in the slightest and lowered his head for him to touch.


    Jiang Zheliu eventually failed to resist the temptation.


    The pattern that coiled upwards covered with devil¡¯s script felt a bit rough to touch and a little hard.


    The blood-coloured patterns on the devil horns burned hotter than the surrounding area, and seemed to be steeped in a dense devilish energy.


    He moved his hand away and said after a long time: ¡°It actually suits you, fierce-looking.¡±


    Wen Renye half embraced him, his voice was muffled, he mumbled ¡°en¡±, the other was not sure what he was thinking. After a while, he leaned in closer to Jiang Zheliu¡¯s ear, and whispered: ¡°I really want ¡­¡­¡±


    Only these three words.


    Wen Renye was already a half-step golden immortal, he had fasted for a long time and should not have a sense of hunger, but with Jiang Zheliu in his arms, that kind of wonderful, indescribable ¡°hunger¡±, was really tormenting the devil¡¯s mind.


    Jiang Zheliu slowly soothed him until the other¡¯s breath got slower and slower. The other¡¯s slightly warm lips touched the corner of his mouth, holding a surge of heated desire.


    Wen Renye paused for a moment.

 CH 27

    Devil Realm.


    As it was stated in countless records, the Devil Realm was dark all day long, there were few times of daylight.


    Wen Renye stepped into Jingshan Hall, he took off his outer cloak and handed it to one of his subordinates. Due to the influence of being in the Devil Realm, his devil horns gradually began to reveal themselves, accompanied with a hideous and fierce energy which was far from the soft and restrained devil he appeared in the eyes of Jiang Zheliu.


    The devil who was lighting the lamps in the Jingshan Hall was in his original devil form, he was about two meters tall, with an extremely hard boney tail, which was now coiled on the side of the stone pillars of the Jingshan Hall.


    Wen Renye sat on the throne in Jingshan Hall, he reached out to pick up the jade tablet on the table, his devilish energy was stimulated. All the records and news about the attack on the Xuan Tongju Gates were displayed in front of his eyes, divided into different categories, everything was extremely clear. He read all the way through, until he almost reached the bottom and paused for a short moment, and looked up towards his subordinate, Shi Binghen.


    ¡°Did everything go as planned?¡± Wen Renye said this through gritted teeth, ¡°Shi Binghen, you said that progress was difficult and stagnant, where was that coming from?¡±


    Shi Binghen was one of the few great devils who could directly contact Wen Renye. He was very brave and good at fighting, and excellent at handling affairs, usually, he would not bother the Devil Lord for a small matter he could resolve himself.


    The great devil in red clothing stood quietly at the bottom of the steps, bowing his head and cupping his hand together: ¡°Devil Lord, you ¡­¡­¡± He wanted to speak but stopped, pausing for a moment before saying, ¡°The matter between you and Jiang Xianzun has spread to the Devil Realm, this time we¡¯ve requested your presence, because ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°It was my decision.¡±


    As this voice resounded in Jingshan Hall, a huge shadow stepped in.


    The candlelight illuminated the bone armour and barbs spread on the other¡¯s body, as well as the slowly unfolding boney wings on his back.


    At the same time, the devilish stone doors of the Jingshan Hall suddenly moved, layers upon layers of prohibited light glowed from the doors, finally lighting up into a terrifying blood-red glow.


    Wen Renye put the jade tablet in his hand back on the table, his pair of purple eyes constantly changing colour, changing between dark and light, his mood changing and churning with waves upon waves of devilish energy.


    ¡°¡­¡­Father.¡±


    The huge bone wings in front of the blood-coloured armour, gradually closed and evaporated, the huge and hideous almost fierce beast of a devil body dispersed, gradually revealing the face of a human form.


    Wen Renjian stood in the middle of the hall, holding a bone cane in his hand.


    ¡°Jiang Zheliu.¡±


    He recited the name once, ¡°His relationship with the Devil Realm, you will not be unaware. Over the years if it were not for him, that bunch of wasteful scum in the Cultivation World would have long been dead and buried ¡­¡­ I asked you to come back this time to ask you face-to-face, the situation between you and him, is it true?¡±


    This was a deadly question with an uncertain answer.


    What Jiang Zheliu had been worried about happened.


    Those things he did for Jiang Zheliu will certainly be subject to certain accusations and obstruction, the Devil Realm will not trust a Devil Lord who was crazy in love, he will face many challenges.


    ¡°Jiang Zheliu, tsk tsk, that master, has become my daughter-in-law ¡­¡­¡± He walked back and forth in front of his son a few times, there was a shift in his tone, he turned his head and straightened his face, ¡°All those great devils waiting for you, and this is what you do? If something hadn¡¯t happened you wouldn¡¯t even come back at all, is that how you intend to rule as the Devil Lord?¡±


    Those things that Jiang Zheliu had been worrying about all this time had actually happened in the Devil Realm but seemingly in a strange way.


    Wen Renye¡¯s reaction was extremely fast, he immediately inferred from these two or three sentences, combined with the specific circumstances of the Demon Realm what this group of great devils were thinking, said: ¡°Have they not been beaten up enough by Jiang Zheliu?¡±


    Amongst this group of older great devils, which one had not been beaten by Jiang Xianzun. The cuts from Ling Xiao sword would not heal for hundreds of years, and which one of them was not angry and full of hate. But once they heard about their Devil Lord and Jiang Xianzun, they were angry but at the same time they immediately impressed by the Devil Lord¡¯s vision.


    A devil queen who could make everyone in the Devil Realm willingly submit.


    Wen Renjian patted him on the shoulder, said: ¡°Even you can¡¯t forget that defeat, treating that sword wound on your chest as a love token. Would you not allow any of your fellow devils to have the same feelings?¡±


    Wen Renye gave him an expressionless look: ¡°No, they¡¯re not allowed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡­¡­¡±


    Wen Renjian knocked the bone cane again, ¡°I am still in the Devil Realm, Xuan Tongju Gate has always just needed one half-step Golden Immortal to keep watch. This time you¡¯ve come back, your main task is to settle the hearts of the people, and then leave to bring my daughter-in-law back with you.¡±


    He turned around and pointed to the blood-coloured ban at the entrance of the Jingshan Hall, he continued: ¡°This ban was placed for others, anyone who is lower than you by two cultivation realms can not enter, Ye-er, take care of yourself, no need to thank me.¡±


    When Wen Renjian finished speaking, he turned around and went out with his bone cane, without the slightest thought of explaining anything to his own son.


    On the contrary, Shi Binghen looked at the ban and sighed: ¡°Devil Lord, will you not react to this?¡±


    Wen Renye slowly said: ¡°There is a little reaction.¡±


    Shi Binghen did not know whether to sympathize or be jealous: ¡°Although everyone talks about defeating Jiang Xianzun, saying that they hate him, but in fact ¡­¡­¡±


    According to the devil race¡¯s strong tastes, Jiang Zheliu was simply the embodiment of every great devil¡¯s hidden dream lover, a distant and unattainable cliffside flower, like the purest moonlight1.


    Neither he nor Wang Moxuan had much luck, and once Wang Wenyuan found out, they would face much more than just these things.


    He wanted to undo all of these things that could endanger the other person¡¯s life so that Wang Moxuan could be completely free from Wang Wenyuan¡¯s control and not be forced to stay in the Tianji Pavilion.


    These few days, Yu Jinnian had been so busy that even a lot of his hair had fallen out, but Jiang Zheliu was leaving so he still had to personally send him off.


    The devil horse had been left behind by Wen Renye, and was now leaning intimately in Jiang Zheliu¡¯s arms, the horse¡¯s head arching to and fro, rubbing against his chest, looking charmed and bewildered.


    Yu Jinnian watched from the side for a while, tsking and sighing: ¡°That horse is really like his master, I see that the Devil Lord Wenren has almost the same virtue.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu took a half step back and turned to look at Yu Jinnian: ¡°I¡¯ve inconvenienced you for a long time, so I must thank you.¡±


    ¡°Aie, there¡¯s no need to thank me.¡±


    Yu Jinnian waved his hand,¡± I am merely doing my due diligence ¡­¡­ but it just so happens that there is something that I need Qianbei to help me with.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu watched as he continued to speak.


    ¡°Qianbei, You need to gain some experience. Yu Jinnian said with incomparable sincerity, ¡°If Devil Lord Wenren forces himself on you, it would not be too passive.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu had a ¡°thank you¡± stuck in his throat, he wasn¡¯t able to say it out loud.

 CH 28

    The break of dawn.


    The boundless cold light of dawn entered through the wooden shutters of the carriage.


    Jiang Zheliu first washed up, then he drank his medicine under the watchful eyes of Ah-Chu for a long while. He drank extremely slowly because that Devil had actually made him fussy, he was having trouble swallowing the bitter medicine now.


    With the resurrection stone nourishing his body, his body had recovered with leaps and bounds, but he was still afraid of the cold, extremely afraid of it.


    Ah-Chu took out a light-blue plush cloak from the bottom of the box, wrapped it around his shenxian gege, tying the light coloured belt into a bow. Then he put the automatic devilish hand warmer into his hands. Whilst leaning over to take in a deep breath, he said: ¡°Gege, you don¡¯t seem to want to drink your medicine, are you feeling unwell?¡±


    Before drinking medicine was like drinking water, he couldn¡¯t taste the bitterness, but now he had an attitude. Jiang Zheliu laughed at himself silently, and couldn¡¯t help thinking about the person who made him like this.


    ¡­.. It¡¯s all his fault.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, no need to worry.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu couldn¡¯t tell the little deer that the medicine was too bitter and he couldn¡¯t take it any longer, that would really be overly fussy. He picked up the medicine bowl again, frowned and drank the whole thing, and then tried to wash down the bitterness with tea.


    The whole trip they had been travelling rather slowly, so it was not too tiring, but Jiang Zheliu¡¯s Heavenly Spirit Body was acting up again. He was getting more and more tired, and his body temperature was slowly rising, to the point where he was starting to feel a little dizzy.


    Ah-Chu saw that Jiang Zheliu couldn¡¯t even pick up a book to read, so he had the idea of making a deck of cards with cardboard, and teach him how to play cards. Nestled in the carriage, Ah-Chu taught him how to play Go Fish, but with Jiang Zheliu¡¯s current condition, even though he did find the game interesting, in the end, playing also made him tired and he would also accidentally fall asleep mid-game.


    The weather was pleasant and calm, and the wind chimes under the roof of the carriage sounded, as if counting the leisurely, slow-passing days as they travelled along.


    Until the wind chimes stopped.


    The horse and carriage came to a halt, there seemed to be someone blocking the road ahead.


    Jiang Zheliu was half-asleep, he heard a quiet voice from outside, his voice was familiar. After a while, Chang Qian lifted up the carriage curtain and climbed in. He came closer, leaning towards Jiang Zheliu, calling out to him, ¡°gege?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu closed his eyes and relaxed for a while, while pinching the bridge of his nose, his voice was still slightly hoarse: ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Chang Qian knew that the other had probably already heard, so he said truthfully: ¡°It¡¯s Ling Xiao Sect¡­.. Zhu Wuxin is outside.¡±


    Ling Xiao Sect¡­.


    His whereabouts were not a secret, there must have been a lot of people who already knew that he had left Dan Xin Monastery, But because of his reputation, and due to Lie Zhen returning with injuries, no one dared to act blindly without thinking¡­


    Ling Xiao Sect ah¡­.. Jiang Zheliu suddenly felt incredibly emotional to these three words that he was so familiar with, in the last thousand years, everytime he had introduced himself, he would put those three words in front of his name, he had regarded it as an honour, he saw it as his home.


    It was just that in the end, he slowly started to realise that wasn¡¯t his home. Only that that lying beneath that cold engraving where the heavy snow falls contained those brief moments of where his warmth remained.


    Jiang Zheliu stood up, pushed aside the carriage curtain and saw the people before him.


    The two Elders, Lin Qingxu and Lin Hanxu were standing behind Zhu Wuxin. Zhu Wuxin was wearing light blue Daoist robes, with Ling Xiao Sword in his hand, the icy scabbard touching the ground, his face looked deeply worried.


    The hand that he had stretched out was easily recognisable. Zhu Wuxin recognised it immediately. The worry and the longing that he had been feeling these couple of days seemed to have found some secret outlet, everything had been ironed out. The more intense the feeling, the more there was a different sense of calm within him.


    ¡°Shixiong. Wuxin doesn¡¯t want to destroy the work that you and father have tirelessly worked for, I don¡¯t want to sully the name of the Head of Immortal Sects after so many years. Shixiong¡­ can you¡­ save me?¡±


    He seemed to be sobbing as he spoke.


    Jiang Zheliu was very familiar with Zhu Wuxin¡¯s personality, he understood Wuxin¡¯s temperament, even if he had a lot of shortcomings, he had still grown up within a righteous sect, and would never be treacherous nor evil. But he had truly not heard Zhu Wuxin cry for a long time, he didn¡¯t know when it started that the relationship between the two of them had become so distant. There was once that he had believed that they would have a tacit understanding between them until the end, and there was no need for superfluous words, but later he slowly realised¡­. Wuxin wasn¡¯t calling him gege.


    The fine things in this world are unstable, the rosy clouds easily disperse and the glazed glass is fragile1.


    He was able to plan for the world and for all the living beings in it, but he never would have expected the Five Power Passion Pill, nor would have expected Zhu Wuxin¡¯s true feelings for him, nor would he have expected that hatred would last longer than love.


    It was calm inside and outside, so quiet that literally only the sound of his sobs could be heard.


    Jiang Zheliu unfolded the scroll, and looked over the request for help one by one by each of the smaller sects, he said in an indifferent tone: ¡°The Devil race is dauntless, has always been indomitable. It¡¯s no use to just fight and push them back, we must make them fear us. You must dispatch the Elders from each sect directly over there. It¡¯s better to break one finger than to injure ten2.¡±


    His shidi was still kneeling outside, and answered very quietly.


    Jiang Zheliu looked all the way down on the scroll and continued to ask: ¡°The demons¡­. There are two Zhenjuns, the Azure Dragon and the Vermilion Bird, how can the situation be so dire?¡±


    ¡°Everyone is saying¡­ that the Devil Lord Wenren who killed him.¡± Zhu Wuxin said ¡°He has wanted to kill Vermilion Bird Zhenjun for a while, Shixiong, did he tell you why he had to go back to the Devil Realm?¡±


    To be able to kill Lie Zhen in a one on one battle, there really only was Wen Renye.


    Zhu Wuxin didn¡¯t hear him reply, so he continued to explain: ¡°Because of Vermilion Bird Zhenjun¡¯s death, the Azure Dragon Zhenjun is too preoccupied to manage the demons, and I don¡¯t dare to stick my foot in, so the demons are¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was actually no longer listening, he did not suspect Wen Renye, and could only consider other options such as an ambush or poison. But he had shunned the world for a long time, and was unable to take in so many considerations at the same time. Things were getting more and more muddled in his head that it was almost buzzing.


    The hand that was holding the scroll was getting tighter and tighter, that the bone pressing against the skin was completely white, followed by a sweet fresh taste that was coming up through his throat, the pain that he had not felt in a long time suddenly came rushing back upwards.


    His internal organs were like cobwebs full of holes, and even breathing was becoming a problem. Jiang Zheliu lowered his head to cover his lips and coughed, the cough becoming more and more violent until the blood seeped out from between his fingers and snaked through the curtain.


    The scroll in his hands had already fallen to the ground, his snow white robes were drenched in fresh red blood. The blood began to drip drop by drop onto the icy scabbard of Ling Xiao Sword. It was as if the sword had felt it and reacted, emitting a low humming sound.


    Zhu Wuxin seemed to have not expected this, he stood up abruptly, it seemed as if his heartstrings had been pulled together, and he croaked: ¡°Shixiong, you, you¡­. you mustn¡¯t be upset. You need to take care of your health¡­.¡±


    The wind blew as the birds whistled, the people behind Zhu Wuxin lowered their heads, not daring to continue watching the scene.


    Every minute and every second after that was like someone holding a knife and cutting into the heart. Zhu Wuxin was anxious and worried, and even wanted to rush immediately to Jiang Zheliu¡¯s side, but he was afraid that it would make him more uncomfortable, so he did not advance.


    The coughing stopped.


    The resurrection stone around Jiang Zheliu¡¯s neck glowed faintly, emitting a milky white glow. This soft power penetrated into his body, slowly but gently suppressing the pain in his body.


    After a short moment, Zhu Wuxin saw that hand ¡ª Jiang Zheliu seemed to wipe the blood-stained area clean, then picked up the Ling Xiao sword and handed it back to him again.


    ¡°What would I do with it?¡± Jiang Zheliu said quietly, ¡°You hold onto it well, from now on there are a lot of things that you need to decide for yourself.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin was stunned for a moment and took the sword, wanting to say something but then stopped: ¡°Shixiong ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I can teach you for a while, but I cannot teach you for a whole lifetime.¡± Jiang Zheliu¡¯s voice carried a heavy tiredness, but he seemed to brace himself to talk to him, ¡°You should not go and get involved in the Demon Realm, I am afraid that there is a change behind the scenes, there seems to be something big behind all of this.¡±


    Those abnormal rationalities in his head were also rising up.


    ¡°Let us pass.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said in a quiet voice.


    ¡°An unconcerned and idle person cannot do much.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin looked at him deeply, but he still couldn¡¯t catch a glimpse of his shixiong. He took a breath and led the people from Ling Xiao Sect behind him to make way off the road, and then watched the carriage slowly drive away.


    Zhu Wuxin watched for a long time, until the carriage had completely disappeared from sight, and then he finally looked down at the Ling Xiao Sword in his hand.


    Lin Qingxu who was beside him leaned in and whispered: ¡°Sect Leader, what do we¡­.¡±


    ¡°You can go back.¡± Zhu Wuxin stared at the sword as he said: ¡°I still have something I must do.¡±


    Lin Qingxu had no idea what the other had to do, but he thought it probably wasn¡¯t something good either, so he just nodded and didn¡¯t say anything else.


    Just before when Zhu Wuxin had left Ling Xiao Sect for quite a while, when everyone else had gone to Dan Xin Monastery to see Xianzun he had not gone¡­. what exactly had he been upto.


    He waited until everyone had left and then Zhu Wuxin took his sword and tried to trace over the scabbard of where Jiang Zheliu had just touched it, trying to recapture even a hint of his warmth.


    But there was not even a speck of warmth.


    ¡°Shixiong¡­¡± Zhu Wuxin muttered. ¡°You will definitely go to Wan Ling Palace, you will definitely go¡­..¡±


    He opened up the palm of his hand, and looked at the pitch black mark on it before closing it into a fist.


    ¡°I will apologise for everything when the time comes.¡± Zhu Wuxin took a very deep breath, ¡°¡­¡­ I don¡¯t want any of that other stuff, Wuxin only wants you.¡±


    As for the others.


    Those who covet shixiong¡­. they must all die.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The carriage kept rolling along for a while.


    Ah-Chu and Chang Qian were both worried to death, they took out all the medicines that they had taken from Dan Xin Monastery, and then picked through them one by one. The little deer was almost in tears, grabbing ahold of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand whilst saying, don¡¯t sleep, take your medicine first.


    Although Jiang Zheliu was upset, but he had not got to the point yet where he was going to drop dead at any moment. It was just that the Heavenly Spirit Body was making him hot, and the qi and the blood was accumulating in his heart, his old wounds were playing up again, but he could still endure it.


    Jiang Zheliu leaned against the inner side of the bed, lost in thought for a long time, it was not known what he was thinking about. After a long time, Ah-Chu came in through the curtain of the carriage, and when he saw that he was awake, he immediately went to his side.


    When Ah-Chu passed him the hand warmer, he finally looked up and said in a low voice: ¡°Ah-Chu.¡±


    ¡°En?¡±


    ¡°Tell Chang Qian to change direction.¡±


    Ah-Chu stared blankly for a moment, then slowly his eyes widened: ¡°Change, change direction?¡±


    ¡°Head towards Wan Ling Palace.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was speaking very quietly, Ah-Chu could not hear any type of emotion in his voice. Ah-Chu stared at him dumbly, he thought he was going mad, he just wanted to hold him tight and tell him not to go, but he also knew that he¡¯d never be able to persuade him otherwise.


    ¡°Gege¡­..¡± Ah-Chu looked at him, but couldn¡¯t say the words out loud.


    ¡°According to the customs of the Demons, his body will be held in Wan Ling Palace for 49 days.¡± Jiang Zheliu lifted his hand to fiddle with the willow branch in the vase, ¡°I want to send him off.¡±


    No matter what, they still had been friends for so long.


    The little devil would never do something like this, the little devil would never lie to him, the little devil would always listen to him¡­.


    But once upon a time, all of these people would also have obeyed him.


    Jiang Zheliu retracted his hand, he coughed twice, and then took the tea from Ah-Chu. He suppressed the fresh metallic liquid in his throat back down, looked down, whilst his snow white eyelashes quivered slightly.


    Ah-Chu leaned close to him and started to gather his long hair with much distress, he felt that shenxian gege¡¯s hair was as cold as frost. He opened his mouth to speak, but he didn¡¯t know what to say. Finally he could only say: ¡°Gege, believe me, the heavens will look kindly upon you, you can live a long, long life, and you will end up with the person you like. You are still young¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still young?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked at the back of his pale hands that were emitting a chill, and then looked down at his snow-white hair.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been old for a long time.¡±


    He closed his eyes.


    After a long silence, Ah-Chu heard him sigh softly, and then mutter quietly


    ¡°¡­. To no longer encounter the remnants of the past, how could one not grow old.¡±

 CH 29

    Countless vines tangled around the ancient trees.


    Qing Lin stood inside the main hall of Wan Ling Palace, wearing a dark green robe. She had her hands behind her back, whilst she looked down at the Pure Flame Pearl upon the spiritual platform.


    The remnants of the rose-tinted clouds at sunset pooled together, the outside world cast in a thick and gloomy dark cloud.


    The news of Lie Zhen¡¯s return to Heaven and Earth had already spread across the realms. Soon, people who are willing to come will come to express their condolences and see him off. And this pure flame pearl will also be put into the Four Divisions Pill Furnace again to produce a new divine beast seed.


    The way of inheritance of the Demon Realm was different from that of other realms. If they breed with any other race, they will not be able to produce any great divine beasts as offspring. After death, the spiritual pearl from the beasts would be put back into the four divisions pill furnace. Only then will a new Zhenjun gradually be born to rule again.


    It is precisely because of this that there would always be only two Zhenjuns in the Demon Realm that would appear at the same time. It was also unknown who would be the next to arise from the Four Divisions Pill Furnace, whether it is the White Tiger, the Black Tortoise, or a new Vermilion Bird.


    Outside the main hall, there was the sound of light rain, accompanied by the soft sound of rain falling through the forest leaves, and the soft sound of raindrops falling onto the surface of the umbrella.


    Wan Ling Palace was suspected in mid-air by countless ancient trees and vines, hanging more than ten feet high1.


    Qing Lin turned around as if she had noticed something, and with a sweep of her divine sense, she immediately discovered the carriage pulled by the war horse of the Devil Realm stationed under the ancient trees. She knitted her brows, then slowly relaxed them as she took a few steps out, and leapt down from the entrance of the Wan Ling Palace.


    She saw her old friend.


    The umbrella was ordinary, with a blue-green marble pattern painted upon it. The wooden umbrella handle was held tightly by a long and slender hand. A head of snow white hair was held up by a plain jade hairpin, with a plush cloak draped over his shoulders, completely enveloping his thin and slender figure.


    It was the first time Qing Lin had seen him after that incident.


    She stretched out her hand to take Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand, and took the umbrella handle from him. She held the umbrella higher, blocking him, and whispered, ¡°What brings you here?¡±


    ¡°It seems that the others are not moving fast enough.¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°Or maybe, they don¡¯t dare to come to the Wan Ling Palace to offer their condolences.¡±


    Qing Lin did not answer the latter part of his sentence, but instead said, ¡°¡­¡­ Dan Xin Monastery is not far from the Devil Realm, but you come over like this, don¡¯t you think it is dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I was about to tell you.¡± Jiang Zheliu glanced at the bracelet on his wrist, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me, you¡¯ll get hurt.¡±


    Qing Lin followed his gaze and examined the bracelet covered with the devil¡¯s script and said, ¡°Lie Zhen has already told me about this, I know.¡±


    Qinglong Zhenjun was much more calm and mature than that Vermilion Bird, but since the height of the divine beasts who come out of the Four Divisions Pill Furnace were all fixed, even though she was a female cultivator, her height was the same as Lie Zhen¡¯s, so she was also slightly taller than Jiang Zheliu.


    She had black hair and blue-green eyes, her eyes were of a dark blue color. Below her eyelids, there were fine dragon scales that had evidently revealed themselves, glistening and following the shape of her eyes. Due to the influence of the Azure Dragon¡¯s body, her body temperature was normal, even a little lower than normal, like the temperature of lake water at room temperature.


    ¡°His spiritual form has already been transformed back into the Pure Flame Pearl.¡± Qinglin said, ¡°You ¡­¡­ don¡¯t need to be too upset.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu laughed a little and said, ¡°Do I look upset?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Qing Lin lowered her head and leaned a few inches closer, and her dark blue eyes met a pair of lightless, pitch-black pupils, ¡°You¡¯ve always known how to trick people.¡±


    After saying that, she suddenly paused, as if she felt something inconceivable, she inclined her head and moved closer again, inhaled deeply, and just when she almost touched Jiang Zheliu¡¯s shoulder, she quickly paused again.


    ¡°You ¡­¡­¡± Qing Lin turned her head away, nearly subconsciously retreating half a step away, but she still held the umbrella for Zheliu, so she did not move, ¡°You are too ¡­¡­ you need to give us divine beasts a way out, now all I can think about is picking you up2 and taking you back to the nest, and then hiding you away.¡±


    ¡°Pick me up then.¡± Jiang Zheliu glanced at the Wan Ling Palace, ¡°I can¡¯t get up there by myself.¡±


    Qing Lin turned her head to look at the carriage not far away, she could feel that there seemed to be two small demons inside, one of them was not a pure-blooded demon, but both were too weak to be worth caring about.


    She was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly realised something.


    The two of them subconsciously seemed to realise that the only way to kill Lie Zhen on a one-on-one battle was Wenren Ye, but they didn¡¯t count the Lord of the Netherworld at the bottom of the River of the Dead, because the latter had been silent for so long and he was unable to get out of the river at all.


    But just because he was unable to move his body did not mean that he had no way of killing someone.


    ¡°The Pure Flame Pearl smells like the water from the River of the Dead.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu returned the Pure Flame Pearl, and said: ¡°When I rescued Yujie, I had been in close contact with the water of the River of the Dead, and there was a smell of¡­ decay.¡±


    Qing Lin looked at him without blinking, feeling that her throat was suddenly dry at that moment, she didn¡¯t know what to say.


    He Sorshi¡¯s body was unfathomable, but it was limited by the river, trapped in the Netherworld forever. However, there were countless evil spirits under his command, and their combat power was second only to the militant Devil Realm.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you down.¡± She turned her head, got close to Jiang Zheliu and took a breath, and suddenly said in a low voice, ¡°Could you tell me why him?¡±


    Qing Lin¡¯s body had a smell similar to the rain, which was an extremely fresh scent.


    ¡°I know you are disappointed in us.¡± She said, ¡°But, is there any chance? Or ¡­.¡±


    ¡°My good friend.¡± Jiang Zheliu interrupted her, his eyes were calm, ¡°The rain is about to get heavier.¡±


    Qing Lin stopped talking.


    Everything seemed fruitless, no ending, no answer.


    She unfolded the paper umbrella, took Jiang Zheliu down from Wan Ling Palace, and helped him back onto the carriage. But instead of returning the umbrella to him, she watched the carriage leave, shaking off the raindrops on the umbrella once again.


    Jiang Zheliu was still the same Jiang Zheliu, as if he would never change.


    What had changed was the world.


    He was still a good person, but¡­ he didn¡¯t belong to her.


    The rain continued to fall.


    It took a while for the carriage to leave the Demon Realm. Even if the straight-line distance between Dan Xin Monastery and Wan Ling Palace was very close, this did not take into account that it was still two separate realms. It would take about two days to completely leave the Devil Realm, but it was also a bonus to have the devil war horse.


    Jiang Zheliu had no cultivation, nor did he have much investigation skills. But he knew that this had nothing to do with the Little Devil Lord, and it was something to be celebrated to have prevented the Devil Realm and the Demon Realm from clashing over this incident.


    And this was indeed Lie Zhen¡¯s last journey.


    But he was clearly the white-haired person here, so why did he have to send people off first?


    As soon as Jiang Zheliu got into the carriage, Ah-Chu replaced his slightly wet soft velvet cloak and put another light blue robe on him. Jiang Zheliu covered his lips and coughed a few times. He felt that he had been thinking too much lately. He had a headache mixed in with the other pain in his body. He drank his medicine very slowly, his old wounds began to flare up again, it was so painful, he found it hard to bear. He was weak like porcelain that was riddled with cracks.


    But the medicine still worked, and coupled with the effect of the resurrection stone, although he looked a little worse these past two day, he felt much better than when he had first arrived in Zhongnan Mountain back then.


    Jiang Zheliu took the warm tea from Ah-Chu, and listened to the little deer¡¯s complaints and nagging. Just when he was about to say something, he realized that the carriage had stopped again.


    He looked up and saw Chang Qian enter the carriage, with a confused expression on his face: ¡°Gege¡­.. We seem to be lost¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu took a deep breath, closed his eyes and said, ¡°¡­River of the Dead.¡±


    The surrounding scenery changed rapidly, like some sort of teleportation technique arranged in advance. This space seemed to be temporarily cut out, and grafted upon the actual road, and then directly changing into another exit road.


    Jiang Zheliu fiddled with his robes and then raised the curtain of the carriage.


    The surrounding area was no longer surrounded by lush ancient trees and vines of the Demon Realm, and there was no trace of spiritual energy. The sky was dark, and something above seemed to be blocking all the light, only the ground was faintly blue, glistening softly.


    There was a transparent boundary all around them, the evil spirits and ghosts that roamed at the bottom of the River of the Dead were hanging around outside of this boundary, leaning over with a face that looked quite cruel at first glance.


    Jiang Zheliu heard the familiar sound of footsteps.


    He turned around and saw the reflected cold light from the ice scabbard of Ling Xiao sword coming from a gloomy shadow.


    Zhu Wuxin was standing opposite him.


    He had never seen such a look on Wuxin¡¯s face, it was hard to describe, if he had to describe it, it was like Zhu Wuxin had gone to great lengths to retrieve a toy that had been broken, regardless of the sacrifice, only to find that the toy had become a treasure in someone else¡¯s palm, altered, carefully mended, and turned into something he was not qualified to touch.


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him calmly.


    His eyes were dark and dull, impenetrable to the light, they had always been like this. It carried with it an indistinguishable chill which seemed to twist and turn in whisps.


    Until Zhu Wuxin said in a subtle tone: ¡°Shixiong.¡±


    ¡°En.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu acknowledged quietly and then said: ¡°You have some sort of deal with He Sorshi?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhu Wuxin lowered his head, slowly gripping the Ling Xiao sword in his hand, ¡°I don¡¯t want anything, I only want you.¡±


    ¡°What does he want?¡±


    ¡°He wants to escape.¡± Zhu Wuxin said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to be trapped underneath the River of the Dead any longer.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu approached him step by step, there was no sign of any fluctuations in his voice, not even the slightest sign of anger.


    ¡°For what cost? What method did you use.¡±


    ¡°The method of ghostly possession.¡± Zhu Wuxin could see him this time and unexpectedly had the thought of backing up, but he didn¡¯t. Instead, he stood in place, ¡°Ghost Lord He made a mark on my soul.¡±


    He spread out his hand slowly, and there was a dark mark upon it, which was a very complicated ghost cultivation symbol.


    This could not be described as capricious, it was simply insane. Jiang Zheliu even felt that Zhu Wuxin had been poisoned, by some kind of gu insect, curse, poison, or his soul was being controlled¡­ Even if it was for the good of the Cultivation World, or for Ling Xiao Sect, anyone who still had a sense of rationality, would not do something like this.


    Jiang Zheliu let out a deep breath, his voice was hoarse: ¡°Do you know what you are doing right now?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin raised his eyes to look at him.


    ¡°Shixiong, I don¡¯t want anything else, I just want you, you ¨C¡±


    After the loud sound of his voice was heard, his voice stopped abruptly.


    Author Note:


    Shi Binghen: Come on xiongdi, let¡¯s snatch the Devil Queen back!


    The great devils who¡¯ve been beaten up by Wenren Ye for the last few days: ¡­¡­..


    Translator Note:


    Oh¡­. Zhu Wuxin¡­. What have you done!?

 CH 30

    They were beneath the River of the Dead.


    It was cold to the touch.


    He clenched the pendant tightly, stabilized his mind, and looked into the distance.


    Countless ghosts and spirits wandered outside the barrier. If there were only Ah-Chu and Chang Qian to rely on when this barrier was taken down, they would all be torn to pieces immediately.


    And behind him, there is a worrying thing.


    Although Zhu Wuxin had been slapped in the face by him, he was not angry at all. To a certain extent, he was secretly excited by Jiang Zheliu¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°Shixiong.¡± Zhu Wuxin said, ¡°Don¡¯t think about that devil anymore, can you just stay with me? I was wrong before, but I will take good care of you from now on.¡±


    His thoughts wandered to the other extreme.


    ¡ª¡ªWill the shixiong belong to me as long as I kill them all?


    Zhu Wuxin didn¡¯t say it out loud, but instead gently grabbed his sleeve, ¡°Shixiong, you can beat and scold me, but don¡¯t ignore me.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu closed his eyes and opened again, sighed, and said, ¡°I¡¯m finding it hard to understand, what the hell are you thinking.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin stared blankly for a moment, but refused to let go of his sleeve. Rationality had long been destroyed by the Five Power Passion Pill, all that was left in his mind were messy and indescribable thoughts. There were things that he wanted to slowly explain to shixiong, and slowly let shixiong process and understand him, but when he looked at Jiang Zheliu, he felt that gradual and orderly progress would be far too torturous.


    ¡°Shixiong.¡± Zhu Wuxin walked to him, staring at his cold snow-white long hair from the side. He raised his hand and picked one of the white hairs between his fingers, ¡°I really can¡¯t wait that long. I know that in fact, you still¡­ still remember before¡­.¡±


    He seemed to want to call his gege, but looking at the other¡¯s indifferent face, he didn¡¯t say it out loud, but instead took a few sidesteps around to stand in front of him.


    ¡°Shixiong¡­can you tell me what is so good about Wenren Ye?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him silently, before speaking for a while: ¡°Do you love me?¡±


    Zhu Wuxin was stunned, and nodded in a daze, then leaned in to try to hold his hand: ¡°Shixiong. Since you want to retire, then I will definitely protect you¡­.¡±


    ¡°Zhu Wuxin.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu rarely called him by his full name.


    ¡°What the hell is wrong with you.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu retracted his hand and stared at him blankly: ¡°Young and wilful I can understand. Jealous and envious I can also understand. But why would you do such a thing?¡±


    ¡°Secretly working with the Netherworld, attacking and killing the Vermilion Bird, trapping me in the cage at the bottom of the river. Using such demonic practices such as the ghostly possession technique, unleashing unpredictable harm.¡± Jiang Zheliu¡¯s words paused, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t told me all of this, I must suspect that you had been possessed by the wandering soul, are you really my shidi?¡±


    Zhu Wuxin was speechless.


    ¡°You say you love me.¡± Jiang Zheliu looked at him and said, ¡°but you make me so¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t say any more, he took a light breath, swallowed all the words back, and walked to the edge of the barrier, reaching out and touching the transparent barrier.


    The ink-coloured bracelet on his wrist touched the barrier, lit up layer by layer, the devilish script glowed brightly, but then fell silent.


    Above them it was the River of the dead, it was normal that no news could pass through.


    Although this was expected by Jiang Zheliu, he was still a little disappointed.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡± Zhu Wuxin stayed behind him, his voice changed little by little, and it seemed to be much lower. ¡°You can¡¯t get out.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu paused, then turned his eyes to look at him for a long while, and said, ¡°¡­ Ghost Lord He.¡±


    A smile cracked on this familiar face.


    ¡°This b*stard hurts you a lot.¡± He Sorshi stretched out his hand, looked at the ghost mark on the palm of his hand, and then stretched lazily as if he had just woken up. ¡°Qianbei, it was really hard for me to come out, can¡¯t you be a little more inviting?¡±


    Many years ago, when Jiang Zheliu rescued Jin Yujie, the overwhelming sword light had almost broken one of the chains that bound him. That one event at that time had been stuck on He Sorshi¡¯s mind for a long time.


    In fact, he was not very comfortable with Zhu Wuxin¡¯s body. Under normal circumstances, if a ghost wanted to possess a body, it required the consent of the body¡¯s owner. Just now, Zhu Wuxin¡¯s mind was shaken so much that he was caught off guard by this fluctuation. Waking up from his slumber, he opened his eyes and saw the back of a snow-white silhouette.


    This little bastard seemed to shirk away easily. The last time He Sorshi had woken up in his body, it was to kill the bird in the Wan Ling Palace, he had never been woken up so readily before. He raised his hand and yawned sleepily, and walked to Jiang Zheliu¡¯s side step by step. Suddenly he noticed something interesting, and he leaned closer to Jiang Zheliu¡¯s shoulder and sniffed.


    ¡­¡­ So fragrant.


    What was that¡­..


    To a certain extent, the Netherworld was the closest place to natural law, as it was the place where all the departed souls who had returned to Heaven and Earth are accumulated. Reincarnation of these spirits was an extremely important part of the natural order. And these ghost cultivators had no actual body, they felt with their mind, so they are more sensitive to things that others who have a solid form or body.


    This scent was just too much, and the energy circulating around the other¡¯s body also carried the wonderful fragrance of the Heavenly Spirit Body.


    Jiang Zheliu took a half step back.


    He looked at Zhu Wuxin¡¯s face showing a completely different look from his shidi, his slightly childish eyes slowly turned into an iron gray colour.


    ¡°You¡­¡± He Sorshi¡¯s words stopped for a while, and a smile appeared, ¡°No wonder this little bastard loves you.¡±


    He did not give Jiang Zheliu a chance to speak.


    The Nether Realm was lacking in everything, but there was no lack of chains.


    Ah-Chu had been trembling in fear the entire day, and then he saw as Zhu Wuxin, that son of a b*tch forcibly embrace his shenxian gege, and then directly jump up onto the carriage, ignoring the two little demons in the carriage, and pushed Jiang Zheliu directly onto the bed, the chains clicked and then were locked tightly.


    Jiang Zheliu was anxious, coughing for a long time with his head down, his mind buzzing, and he could hardly hear the noise outside. His hand was fastened to the bedpost by a cold chain, and he could only pull it a short distance.


    He Sorshi was sitting in front of him, listening to him coughing. He poured a cup of tea casually: ¡°Don¡¯t move about too much, this kid has sacrificed a lot for you.¡±


    He held the tea in front of Jiang Zheliu and continued: ¡°He doesn¡¯t even have the cruel heart to make you lose one hair on your head, he even let me out, you should just settle and accept this kid.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu vaguely heard his last words. He lay on the bed and coughed, his lips were stained with bright red blood, his whole body was shaking, his wrists trembled fiercely, making the chain slammed into himself.


    He Sorshi thought he was going to take the tea and passed it over to him, but it was knocked out of his hand.


    The teacup shattered on the ground, cracking into pieces.


    The other party¡¯s iron-gray eyes turned to Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body, staring at him with a profoundly cold gaze for a while. He leaned down, raised his hand and pushed Jiang Zheliu¡¯s thin shoulders, his gaze stayed on his closed eyes, watching the pair of trembling eyelashes.


    ¡°Jiang Zheliu.¡± He Sorshi lowered his head and took a deep breath between his neck, ¡°It¡¯s such a pity, if I hit you, this little b*stard will definitely fight me hard.¡±


    He just wanted to get away from under the River of the Dead. There was no need for him to waste this opportunity that had been so difficult to obtain. As long as he could get out of there, he would have a chance for everything in the future.


    He just stretched out his hand and gently wiped off the bright red blood on the other¡¯s lips.


    ¡°How did you become like this?¡± He Sorshi held his chin and looked at him with a smile, ¡°I remember you were amazing back then. If you had made a few more swipes of the sword, you could have released me.¡±


    Because he had been dragged along just now, Jiang Zheliu felt as if his body had been crushed all over. It took him a long time to relax and glance up at the other.


    This is old b*stard.


    Jiang Zheliu breathed out slowly, there was only blood in his throat.


    ¡°¡­Get lost.¡±


    He Sorshi smiled, not angry, as if he was still sleepy, he sat beside him supporting his jaw with his hand and closing his eyes.


    Jiang Zheliu glanced at Ah-Chu and Chang Qian beside them, and shook his head at them, signaling that they should not act rashly. He then reluctantly got up, retreated to the inside of the bed, leaned on the inside of the carriage, and reached out to hold the pendant hanging around his neck.


    If it weren¡¯t for this, he would already be dead several times over.


    Jiang Zheliu rubbed the resurrection stone, moved his eyes downward, and stopped upon the Ling Xiao sword held by the other.


    At no other time did he clearly feel the pain of not being able to lift that sword anymore, nor at any other moment did he realise so clearly that there was still something he was unwilling to let go of, and that he actually wanted to live.


    He had someone that he wanted to live for.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The last sentence worked.


    The sound of bone growths stopped, and there was silence everywhere.


    Afterwards, the remaining seven or eight streaks of light also came from the Devil Realm and landed one by one in Wan Ling Palace. They all maintained a partial Devil form, and stopped behind Wenren Ye, a room full of grotesquely shaped monsters and devils, it didn¡¯t look like they were coming to find someone, but more like coming to kill someone.


    ¡°I suspect,¡± Qing Lin said while looking at him, ¡°their target is not only Lie Zhen, but maybe, even Zheliu.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Let¡¯s go to the Netherworld to see!¡± Shi Binghen quickly mediated, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve seen it on the Zongsi Terrace, the River of the Dead can also block the transmission of many treasures, we¡­¡±


    Before he finished speaking, he saw his Devil Lord in front of him withdraw his black knife and turn around, still carrying the terrifying aura of the ultimate boss, fiercely employing the method of teleportation, and gradually disappearing before their eyes.


    Before he could speak, the other seven or eight nasty devils also disappeared in front of them.


    Shi Binghen didn¡¯t move for a while then murmured: ¡°Our royal family really doesn¡¯t know how to date, this is too much ¡­¡±


    He turned his head and glanced at the Azure Dragon Zhenjun behind him, rolled up his sleeves, ready to help make up the errors caused by his devil lord in love, and smiled: ¡°Zhenjun, could I take a look around Wan Ling Palace? I know we have different statuses. But there is no other way, and I don¡¯t want to inconvenience pretty jiejie, what do you think¡­¡±


    Qing Lin held a sword in one hand, she closed her eyes.


    ¡°Do as you please.¡±


    Author Note:


    Liuliu suddenly activated his desire to live.

 CH 31

    There is limited light in the Netherworld.


    Jiang Zheliu asked the two of them not to come over, then reached out and touched the ink bracelet on his wrist.


    The devilish script on the bracelet lit up a few times before, but whilst He Sorshi possessed Zhu Wuxin¡¯s body, it seemed that he was able to block the transmission of this devilish device and not trigger its defenses.


    The light of the Netherworld leaks through the wooden window of the carriage, leaving a scattered afterglow.


    The state of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s health couldn¡¯t be considered as very good, and he was still quite sick, but this did not really bother him physically, however, it was affecting his train of thought.


    Zhu Wuxin came back to his senses.


    It was as if Zhu Wuxin was frightened by what he saw before his eyes. He stared blankly at the chain that was wrapped around Jiang Zheliu¡¯s left hand, he looked at him sitting in the innermost side of the bed, in his snow-white robe. Jiang Zheliu looked exhausted with his head in his knees, his hairpin had fallen off so that his long hair was flowing down past his shoulders, falling all the way down his slim back.


    Whaa¡­ what was he doing?


    Zhu Wuxin was at a loss, he swallowed before slowly leaning in closer to Jiang Zheliu and whispered: ¡°Shixiong?¡±


    When he had made a deal with He Sorshi, he knew that the other could awaken and use his body, and gain a short moment of independence. But if the other did something in his body that he was unwilling to do then a conflict would arise between the two of them.


    Zhu Wuxin wasn¡¯t willing to admit that he would do such a thing to his shixiong, he looked at the Jiang Zheliu¡¯s sleeves which was soiled with blood stains and his heart began to ache.


    Jiang Zheliu looked up, and glanced over at him without saying a word.


    ¡°Shixiong, are you okay?¡± Zhu Wuxin felt an unbearable suffering from just this one glance, he reached out his hand and touched Jiang Zheliu¡¯s snow-white hair, his voice was hoarse: ¡°Is it time for your medicine, if you¡¯re angry, you can scold me or even hit me but don¡¯t take it out on yourself. Where is the medicine that Yu Jinnian prescribed? Let me get it for you¡­..¡±


    ¡°Wuxin.¡±


    His voice was incredibly quiet, and was also a little hoarse.


    Zhu Wuxin stopped in his tracks, he heard the clear ringing from the movement of the chains, which made his fervent domineering nature to grow, inducing an unspeakable desire, yet an incomparable insatiety.


    His throat was dry, he leaned in a little closer, lowering his head to whisper: ¡°Shixiong, I¡¯m right here.¡±


    Zhu Wuxin saw his lightless black eyes look towards him, he saw the corner of his eyes were slightly red, he saw his beautiful but cold elegant brow. Those pair of eyes that were almost completely impenetrable to the light, which reflected his own face, slowly filled up with tears.


    Zhu Wuxin¡¯s heart trembled, and he even forgot to breathe.


    Zhu Wuxin originally didn¡¯t have much brains to begin with, but at this time his ability to actually reflect had been rendered to zero, he slowly reached out and pressed on the other end of the metal chain, but did not undo it, but instead touched Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand.


    Seeing that the latter did not avoid him, he finally moved his hand towards the other¡¯s wrist, but then decided that there was no rush, and he whispered: ¡°It¡¯s the Netherworld out there, there is nothing to say, when Shixiong is willing to take off that bracelet given to you by that devil, I will take you elsewhere so we can live in seclusion. For now¡­. Why don¡¯t you just stay by my side and recover, okay?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for a response from Jiang Zheliu, and just continued speaking: ¡°You don¡¯t need to do anything at all, just concentrate on getting better, I will take care of you.¡±


    This sounded more like being a bird stuck in its cage.


    ¡°With Shixiong¡¯s instruction, I will definitely be able to remedy the situation with Ling Xiao Sect.¡± The more he spoke, the more brazen Zhu Wuxin became, he lowered his forehead down and got very close to Jiang Zheliu: ¡°Shixiong, Ghost Lord He promised me that he will not invade the Cultivation World, it will all be okay.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked into his eyes, he was no longer wondering what the other was thinking, he was silent for a short moment, and then said in a quiet voice: ¡°I will not leave, you can undo the chains, I don¡¯t want¡­.¡±


    He paused for a moment, then whispered: ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a bird restricted to a cage.¡±


    The corners of his eyes were still faintly red and moist, his voice was calm and gentle, it didn¡¯t seem like he had any other intentions.


    Zhu Wuxin felt a little anxious, and quickly replied: ¡°It¡¯s not like that, I just¡­. I just see shixiong as my cultivation partner.¡±


    The more he explained, the more nervous he got, and the more nervous he got, the more he wanted to explain. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he could not resist under Jiang Zheliu¡¯s gaze. He thought that Jiang Zheliu was already in this state, so he decided to use his spiritual energy to undo the Netherworld chains that had been tied around the bedpost by He Sorshi.


    Since ancient times, no one has been able to resist a beauty¡¯s scheme, even if he knew that he shouldn¡¯t, he still jumped in.


    Zhu Wuxin took his wrist out of the chains, then helped him massage the part that had been reddened by the metal, whilst talking a lot of the past.


    Jiang Zheliu looked as if he was sleepy.


    When his body reached extreme exhaustion, it was easy for him to feel sleepy and then fall asleep directly. Although Zhu Wuxin didn¡¯t know too much about this, he had some bad intentions and was outrageously bold in his lustfulness. After releasing the other¡¯s wrist, he couldn¡¯t resist embracing this sick and boney frail body, it was almost as though he could feel no weight from the other¡¯s body.


    It was true that Jiang Zheliu weighed almost nothing, but it was not only the physical weight of his body that was light, but when Zhu Wuxin was holding him, his mind and his Dao body also felt empty.


    Jiang Zheliu had an odour on his body that was like a light snow day in early Winter, ice-cold but gentle, the closer he leaned in the more distinct it was.


    ¡°Shixiong,¡± Zhu Wuxin said ¡°Are you sleepy?¡±


    This was a rhetorical question.


    All he received was a quiet and weak reply.


    Zhu Wuxin was not really sure what he was feeling in this moment, he felt that this moment was surreal, and he was confused and disconcerted, he even thought that the person that he was embracing was not actually Jiang Zheliu but a figment of his imagination, who would disperse in a flash.


    The moment that he had been yearning for, actually made him feel the most unsettled.


    Until he heard the sound of the sword spirit.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s palm swiped across the Ling Xiao sword, the flowing blood soaked through the sword, the engraved words above the Ling Xiao sword filled with blood and lit up slowly.


    He could not exhibit an ounce of spiritual energy, he was like a broken flower pot, even if he was given spiritual energy it would just leak out, but his cultivation realm was still there, and he still had the Dao body of a half-step golden immortal, and the spiritual energy was overflowing within his blood.


    It was just that this Dao body was also utterly broken, and already withered, even the fresh blood flowing within him was lacking.


    In the next instant when the sweet fresh blood had spread completely, the sharp edge of the Ling Xiao sword released a piercing cold light, followed by a muffled sound during the entrance with the body, it crossed through from the back to the front of the chest, the aim was incredibly accurate.


    The bright red blood stained and spread across the snow white robes.


    Zhu Wuxin only had time to see into the other¡¯s eyes, that pair of eyes that had just had a hint of tears just before, with slightly reddened corners, but all that was left now was pitch black, it was inexhaustibly calm inside.


    The droplets of blood on Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand dropped onto the floor.


    ¡°A hundred steps can only be regarded as halfway to ninety1,¡± He was expressionless, he said calmly, ¡°The ancient people are true to their word.¡±


    The Ling Xiao sword penetrated Zhu Wuxin¡¯s chest from behind, nailing the divine soul in this body to death, He Sorshi who was possessing this body could also not easily break free.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­ You.¡± Zhu Wuxin vomited a large mouthful of blood, clutching Jiang Zheliu¡¯s wrist tightly in his hand, with a hoarse voice he said: ¡°You will die! I¡¯m the one who cast the boundary spell, it will be broken, the River of the Dead¡­. The River of the dead is full of evil spirits¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Would Ghost Lord He let me die in the Netherworld.¡± Jiang Zheliu looked at Zhu Wuxin, as if he was pondering upon this question, ¡°Isn¡¯t a Xianzun lacking the strength even to truss a chicken a better bargaining chip than a dead body?¡±


    He seemed to not have finished speaking yet when the floor began to crack and burst open violently, in an instant, the River of the Dead was split in half by a fierce knife energy, all the evil spirits in the river were dispersed by this incredible knife, the river water split in two, and then the boundary spell was broken, even the horse carriage was split open, and smashed into pieces.


    But the blade energy was about to touch Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hair when it retreated so violently that it did not hurt anything else, and only ruffled the mane of the devil realm war horse.


    The waves from the River of the Dead started to crash about, and black clouds filled the sky. The Devil Lord wearing his bone armour hovered in the air, with the ink knife in his hand showing a brutal killing intent.


    Just as he split the water of the River of the Dead, the energy that had been previously blocked suddenly appeared again. Wenren Ye¡¯s muddled mind suddenly became clearer, and the killing intent was suddenly contained by half.


    When the carriage split, seeing the scarlet bloodstains directly crushed the devil¡¯s emotions. He had only recovered his senses for only three seconds when the great devils behind him watched as their Devil Lord rushed towards the bottom of the river without even thinking about it. The entire river that had been split by the knife energy was crashing about in all directions, and the tide continued to circulate on both sides.


    Jiang Zheliu only heard the sound of a broken barrier, and then he was enveloped in a dim shadow.


    Huge bone wings enveloped him, whilst the hard armour softened inch by inch when it encountered his body. The purple gems inlaid in his eye sockets disappeared and turned back into ordinary human eyes, bringing with it a familiar fragrance of pine and cypress, making him leak energy from head to toe, and his troubled mind slowly began to relax bit by bit.


    The little devil seemed terrified.


    It was clearly he who had been abducted¡­.. But Wenren Ye appeared more like the injured party, he just embraced Jiang Zheliu without speaking, the pair of bone wings wrapping around him tighter and tighter, hooked around his waist and back as if he would never let go again.


    The devilish energy from the knife had retracted cleanly, and no longer exhibited any killing aura but Jiang Zheliu had a feeling that Wenren Ye seemed to be afraid.


    Until he felt a warm liquid upon his shoulder.


    ¡­¡­.. Was he crying?


    The more Wenren Ye refused to speak, the more worrying it was for Jiang Zheliu. Jiang Zheliu couldn¡¯t even find a way to comfort the other, he just coughed lightly a few times. In reality, he was so exhausted he just wanted to sleep, but the little devil seemed to be extremely upset, so Jiang Zheliu did not want to let himself fall asleep, but instead returned the other¡¯s embrace, and whispered: ¡°I¡¯m fine, really¡­. I¡¯m fine.¡±


    It was as if he had said nothing at all.


    Jiang Zheliu was thinking about what else he could say to comfort Wenren Ye but all of a sudden the other had turned to him and kissed him.


    He was stunned for a moment and didn¡¯t react, and it was exactly in this moment of tacit approval that Wenren Ye who seemed to be seeking a reassuring sense of presence, began to enter more deeply into the other¡¯s mouth, taking all the initiative and seizing all his breath in a rampant manner.


    If Jiang Zheliu had not been in his arms, this kiss would still have overpowered him. This kiss made his tongue feel numb, he had no energy at all, all he could do was lean on the other and let Wenren Ye do whatever he wanted, the corners of his eyes also began to flush.


    This time it was real, and something that was totally out of his control.


    The seven or eight great devils of various shapes and sizes who were standing behind Wenren Ye were shocked to the core, they just stood there looking at them and then at each other, not daring to say a word. But there was one that had arrived later, Shi Binghen came from behind them, as he arrived late, this was the first thing that he saw when he arrived in the Netherworld.


    He looked dumbfounded at Jiang Xianzun, who was being protected by the Devil lord. All that was visible was the edge of his robes, and the hand of the Devil Queen was on the Devil lord¡¯s shoulder, it was slender and fine, fragile to the extreme, with blood still dripping down from the palm.


    Shi Binghen gulped with difficulty, then lowered his head to look at the body that still had the Ling Xiao Sword through the chest, he muttered: ¡°Counterkilling in the face of imminent peril2¡­.. I thought he had no spiritual energy left and couldn¡¯t fight anymore?¡±


    The great devils beside him were not looking too great either as if they had suddenly remembered being beaten up by their devil lord. They were wondering deeply what would happen in the Devil Realm in the future and would this give rise to the couple coming up with some sort of Double Beating Event. The most glaring thought was still ¡ª¡ª ah! Dream lover! Our lord has kissed my dream lover!


    Those two words were really poking at the disappointment of great devils¡¯ hearts.


    Shi Binghen was aware of the thoughts that this band of great devils were having, he poked the devil standing beside him: ¡°What are you looking at, have you not been beaten up enough. Our Devil Realm has always been accustomed to the winner marrying the bride and the losers need to shut up and mind their own business, avoid dwelling on the unpleasant.¡±


    This kind of culture also seemed to have contributed to the custom of the Devil Realm to only grow in battle power but not brains.


    Jiang Zheliu was not distracted, he didn¡¯t pay attention to what they were talking about, and he didn¡¯t even notice that there was anyone beside him. He was really exhausted by the little devil, and he leaned on Wenren Ye¡¯s shoulders and slowly evened his breath, before murmuring in a low voice: ¡°¡­ Zhu Wuxin¡­¡±


    He wanted to briefly explain to Wenren Ye the ins and outs, but after only saying these three words, when an abundance of ghost energy sprang out from the body that had been pierced by the Ling Xiao sword. The next moment, the Ling Xiao sword let out a piercing noise and the ground was shaking within a radius of ten meters.


    He Sorshi knocked against the metal chains, and did a sideward smile: ¡°You two are both too rude, each time you come here you hack open my River of the Dead.¡±


    Wenren Ye¡¯s bone wings twitched.


    The devils were the leaders in ruthlessness and killing but the ghost cultivators were the most cunning and deceitful.


    ¡°You old thing.¡±


    Wenren Ye turned to look at him, His purple eyes seemed to have concentrated a layer of killing aura, his mouth twitched, his words were ice-cold.


    ¡°I¡¯ll slaughter you.¡±


    He put Jiang Zheliu behind him, the pitch-black ink blade appeared in his hand once more, the edge of the blade emitted a cold light.


    Endless evil spirits shot up but were beheaded and thrown back down to the bottom of the river by the great devils who had followed their Lord here. Howling malevolent dark spirits pounced over and were cleaved to pieces by the ferocious devils.


    Whilst the great immortals fought, Shi Binghen didn¡¯t think to intervene instead he quietly leaned behind Jiang Zheliu, not daring to touch it anywhere, only poking his shoulder carefully with his fingertips.


    Jiang Zheliu knew that he would be unable to stop the little devil, and he was still being encircled by the other¡¯s giant bone wings, so he was incredibly safe. He had just started to relax but was destabilized again at this moment, when someone shoved him something ice-cold.


    ¡­¡­ So this was really how the Devils fed each other.


    Jiang Zheliu held the colourless spirit stone in his hands, then licked it, it was very cold.


    Shi Binghen being so close to Jiang Zheliu took a critical hit of the other¡¯s beauty and was stunned for a moment. He looked up to glance quickly at the Xianzun in front of his eyes, recovered his senses and said: ¡°It¡¯s from the Xuan Tongju Gate, it was formed naturally, it¡¯s for you to recover. Xianzun, you don¡¯t need to mind our Devil Lord, he has always been very impulsive. He¡¯s not taking care of you and instead decided to start a fight with that old ghost¡­..¡±


    The colourless spirit stone quickly melted between his lips, sliding down his throat like icy water. The pain in Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body was temporarily suppressed, and his mind became clearer. He raised his eyes and looked at the great devil dressed in red in front of him: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Hey, no need to thank me, our statuses are different. From now on you are our sister-in-law3.¡± Shi Binghen rubbed his hands and said, ¡°That band of great devils over there are each more fierce than the other, but in front of you they wouldn¡¯t even dare to utter a word, that¡¯s a tradition of the Devil Realm, seriously¡­¡­. Isn¡¯t that delicious? Our Lord specially killed the creature for you, and took it out of his brain¡­¡±


    Another chatterbox.


    Jiang Zheliu wasn¡¯t really paying much attention to the beginning but then he heard the last part of his sentence, and that¡¯s when he reacted and said: ¡°From¡­. Inside the brain?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Shi Binghen face brightened up, ¡°That thing was not much stronger than you back in the day, Xianzun, you¡¯re too fierce ¡ª¨C¡±


    Jiang Zheliu: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

 CH 32

    A fight between Wen Renye and He Sorshi was truly a fight between Immortals.


    The sky was dim, and the ground began to crack open with cracks several meters wide, it was made by knife energy. The crazy tremor of the giant chain and the scream of the ghost spirits, resounded throughout the Netherworld.


    Wenren Ye was just too skilled at fighting.


    Here it was the Netherworld and it was He Sorshi¡¯s realm, and it was not known how long He Sorshi had lived for, even though he had been locked down by these giant iron chains, but it was just that he was unable to leave, and not that he was unable to fight.


    He Sorshi was being held by four iron chains, which were restricting his four limbs. One of them had a deep groove as if it had been sliced, shaking violently in the hopes that it may snap apart. That slice was made by the swipe of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s sword, back when he was rescuing Jin Yujie from the river. He had split the river in two, slicing into the chains, almost unsuspectingly breaking one of the chains.


    Shi Binghen was completely immersed in his Devil Lord¡¯s fight, he was so excited that he almost grab ahold of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s shoulder, but seeing that the latter was like a flimsy sheet of paper, at the critical moment, he held himself back, and instead fiercely slapped his own thigh: ¡°That¡¯s amazing! You¡¯re so fierce! He was so arrogant but he¡¯s still getting owned by our Devil Lord!¡±


    Jiang Zheliu watched the amount of power that Shi Binghen had used to slap his own thigh and thought that if he¡¯d have taken such a slap, they¡¯d need to get his coffin ready.


    Just before when Wenren Ye had split the horse carriage in half, although he had ruffled the devil horse¡¯s mane, he had not injured the two little demons. Ah-Chu had never seen such an exciting event before and he was completely stupified by the fighting style that he saw before him. It was Chang Qian who fished out a thick fur cloak from the spiritual storage device and put it over Jiang Zheliu¡¯s shoulders.


    A half-demon half-devil¡¯s scent is quite evident, and Shi Binghen noticed it immediately, he looked at Chang Qian with curiosity. He thought that this kind of mixed blood was quite uncommon. Although the elder brother of his Devil Lord had died long ago, he was very productive, with his first wife, he produced a little master called Wenren Xi and then after his first wife died, he found a second spouse who was a snake demon.


    The Devil Realm¡¯s customs were very simple, whoever was the best at fighting could get married, no matter whether it was a male or female, it was just that there was a significant difference in strength, the majority of the best fighters were mainly male. They also had a very strong notion of being faithful unto death, no matter if it was a male or female, visiting a prost*tute was strictly frowned upon, not to mention marrying a second spouse.


    Chang Qian¡¯s father was a devil who had been judged severely in the Devil Realm.


    Because of these two customs of enjoying battle and faithfulness to their spouse, there was never much growth in the population in the Devil Realm. Birth rate and death rate were relatively level. They were maintained in a state where each individual was fierce and frightening, but their numbers were unable to reproduce quickly.


    Chang Qian was breaking out in a cold sweat due to this devil in red fixating on him, but being close to Jiang Zheliu made him less afraid. He reached out to straighten out Jiang Zheliu¡¯s cloak, and looked at his shenxian gege for a while, who seemed to be exhausted, feeling a little sorry for him, he asked quietly: ¡°Gege, are you cold?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu shook his head, he was so tired but he didn¡¯t dare to sleep, his gaze was on the fight the whole time, unable to look or think about anything else.


    Shi Binghen who was also beside Jiang Zheliu had taken this Devil Queen¡¯s safety with extreme prudence, but he also couldn¡¯t help himself coming out with: ¡°What¡¯s this? That¡¯s it? Is that it? This guy wants to fight with our Devil Lord? He really just needs a good spanking¡­¡­¡±


    He was garrulous for quite some time, but this actually seemed to help Jiang Zheliu gather his thoughts, the latter grabbed Shi Binghen¡¯s hand and said: ¡°Ask Wenren Ye to come back.¡±


    Shi Binghen stared at his own hand which had been grabbed by Jiang Zheliu, and said blankly: ¡°Sister-in-law¡­.. That.. that¡­ doesn¡¯t seem to be a good idea¡­¡±


    His brain had already gravitated towards the consequences of eloping with the Devil Queen, if it wasn¡¯t for the Devil Lord bestowing great kindness and favour1 upon him, he might have actually really considered it.


    He Sorshi had not fully grasped the situation when he saw that Wenren Ye had already retreated entirely and quickly dropped back beside Jiang Zheliu and had suddenly picked up that snow-white haired useless Xianzun in his arms.


    In the next moment, that dauntless and peerless devil actually got up close to the white haired Jiang Zheliu and whispered with much grievance: ¡°Who do you want to leave with?¡±


    The Devil Lord picked him up, whilst the bone armour all of his body completely disappeared, and he had turned back into his human form. He reached out with one hand to straighten the fur cloak on the other¡¯s body and whispered: ¡°Sleep.¡±


    He spoke calmly and unhurriedly. Next to him, Shi Binghen listened to this conversation with curiosity. He looked steadily at the back of the Devil Lord leaving the Netherworld with the Devil Queen, he clicked his tongue, and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s amazing to have someone to hold.¡±


    It really was amazing.


    Shi Binghen turned to glance at the seven or eight lonely devils who were still fighting next to him, and resignedly picked up two little demons who couldn¡¯t react, and followed his Devil Lord to leave.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Jiang Zheliu looked over towards the window, and then looked down at the claw which was grasping his ankle, he tried to explain gently: ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry, I will dress warmly.¡±


    The implication was that he will make sure he won¡¯t freeze.


    Jiang Zheliu had always upheld his word, since he said that he would definitely take care of himself, not to mention¡­ he didn¡¯t want to die at all now. He couldn¡¯t bear the idea of leaving the little devil by himself in this world, to the little devil this was truly the cruelest thing.


    ¡­¡­. At least, let me accompany him a little longer.


    Wenren Ye did not let go and put Jiang Zheliu back on the bed, every word filled with contradiction: ¡°No way, it¡¯s snowing outside.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said: ¡°But¡­.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already seen it, the plum flowers have blossomed.¡±


    Author Note:


    Unlike others, every word you say to me is like you¡¯re acting wilfully.

 CH 33

    The most amazing sight at Zhongnan Mountain was the Plum Blossoms.


    His hairpin that held up his hair had fallen off, and then he¡¯d been nestled in the little devil¡¯s warm embrace and sleeping until now, so he still hadn¡¯t combed his hair. The cold and frosty snow white hair draped down and fell on the fur collar of his cloak of the same colour, almost blending into one.


    The moonlight fell on his shoulders, against the half of the back of his hand that was slightly exposed where he held the hand warmer. It was slightly white and transparent, pale without any colour.


    Wenren Ye was by his side accompanying him, whilst holding on to his hand.


    This was the same pavilion where they had come to see the shooting star. The seating inside the pavilion was forged from mountain rock, at this moment, a soft fox fur blanket was laid down. When the Devil Lord set Jiang Zheliu down onto the blanket from his arms, he looked disdainfully at the stone and that it was hard and cold, but didn¡¯t complain too much about it.


    The little devil looked after him like he was made of glass.


    During this snowy night, it was not actually that cold, as the saying goes falling snow is not as cold as snow transforming into ice, it was only when the snow ceased to fall that the temperature would begin to drop rapidly.


    Wenren Ye sat next to him, putting his arm around him. The black outer cloak on his body overlapped with the snow cloak on Jiang Zheliu, he gradually came closer and closer, until they were snuggled up close together.


    Jiang Zheliu paused for a while, rubbed the hand warmer in his hands and then slowly said: ¡°Before when I called you back, it wasn¡¯t only because I was tired.¡±


    He used a clear and peaceful tone, explaining to him the situation about ¡ª Zhu Wuxin and He Sorshi, and then pointed out the fact that the iron chains could have broken. His language was concise, and the context was outlined in a few sentences.


    ¡°¡­¡­. If I¡¯d known earlier it¡¯d be like this.¡± Jiang Zheliu said in an indifferent tone, ¡°That day I wouldn¡¯t have stopped you, which would have caused less worries.¡±


    That day he had said to the little devil that Ninety miles is merely a half of a hundred mile journey1, he was missing just that last step but when he got to that last step every fell apart. The shidi that he had raised with his own hands had been killed by him.


    Jiang Zheliu lowered his head, slowly kneading the hand warmer, he said: ¡°It¡¯s a shame that in this world, there¡¯s no such thing as knowing the future.¡±


    Wenren Ye continued to keep silent for a long while, using the moonlight he continued to fix his gaze upon Jiang Zheliu, watching as the other frowned.


    He could not truly understand how Jiang Zheliu was feeling inside when he said these words.


    ¡°If my shifu knew.¡± Jiang Zheliu smiled slightly, ¡°he¡¯d probably be full of regret.¡±


    Wenren Ye stared at him: ¡°If Zhu Wenyuan really loved you as a parent, he would have regretted a long time ago ¡ª¡ª producing such a son to burden you with.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said: ¡°It wasn¡¯t a burden, Wuxin wasn¡¯t like this before.¡±


    ¡°So have you already decided that you want to be with me?¡± The little devil pressed his lips against his and kissed him lightly, ¡°Zheliu, you have also seen, the devil realm likes you very much, you don¡¯t have to worry too much.¡±


    It was true that the Devils did really like him, basically it was the kind of like that made them steal him away, the way they looked at their Devil Lord and Devil Queen was basically like a ripe lemon, sour to death. A bunch of great devils had also discussed taking the Devil Queen back with them, but due to the harsh environment of the Devil World, which was not suitable for Jiang Zheliu¡¯s recovery, they were beaten back by Wenren Ye¡­ Urgh no, persuaded to go back.


    Jiang Zheliu had left too strong of an impression on the Devil Realm. Back then, what great devil had not tried to defy him, but in the end they had all been sent packing with a swipe of Ling Xiao Sword, but the thing was Jiang Xianzun was just such a beauty, so they suffered a defeat in every battle, but kept on fighting despite the setbacks. Secretly falling in love and taking the beating at the same time.


    Jiang Zheliu had not expected this to be the case in the Devil Realm. He was getting a little dizzy from the warm breath of the other, and the tip of his nose was overpowered by the scent of pine and cypress from Wenren Ye¡¯s body. As the little devil held him tightly, he slowly whispered: ¡°¡­ You¡¯re not afraid of becoming a widow.¡±


    The resurrection stone was radiant and lustrous, and the milky white stone had a few gleams of blue light floating in it.


    Even though Jiang Zheliu predicted the future direction of the World and knew that in the future there was a great possibility of war with the Devil Realm. But he was still stunned by Wenren Ye¡¯s way of speaking¡­ In his mind, the little devil should be the ruthless and ambitious hero who would reunite the realms, and nothing like how he was acting at the moment¡­ full of danger.


    Jiang Zheliu pressed his fingertips into the hand warmer, raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°Is this your way of threatening me.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Wenren Ye confessed, ¡°If one day, you don¡¯t feel that this is a threat¡­ then you have truly relieved yourself from worldly worries.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu fell silent.


    The safety of all sentient beings in the world could still be used to threaten him. This was like his invisible shackle.


    No matter how he tried to not care on the surface, but as the little devil said, only when he didn¡¯t feel the weight of this threat would he truly have been freed.


    Snowflakes blew into the pavilion, and it perched on top of the fur collar of his outer cloak.


    Wenren Ye stretched out his finger and carefully brushed away the snowflakes. He heard the other¡¯s voice in a very light tone: ¡°¡­I thought that after I retired, I had become free long ago.¡±


    ¡°I will take care of everything.¡± Wenren Ye was very self-aware, ¡°In order not to be a widow, I will work extra hard, I¡¯ll make you live longer than Zhongnan Mountain.¡±


    He took Jiang Zheliu¡¯s wrist, rubbed it in his palm, and then said, ¡°It¡¯s too cold, let¡¯s go back.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Zheliu glanced at the night sky and suddenly said, ¡°Little Devil?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    It was not only snowing in Zhongnan Mountain.


    The seasons changed and the climate fluctuated. At the border of the Cultivation world and the Demon Realm, in the depths of the Shiwan Dashan3 there was also a rare heavy snowfall that came down on the mountain.


    Yu Jinnian¡¯s cultivation realm was not particularly strong, but he had still been a cultivator for many years so he was also unaffected by the cold and the heat, and would not frown when confronted with the cold wind or snow. But at this moment, he had actually been caught in a dilemma because of the heavy snow.


    The blood jade tree peony that was needed to undo the Fate Seal4 had long been picked up by Yu Jinnian.


    But what he hadn¡¯t expected was that he had negotiated with Wang Wenyuan several times during this period, going back and forth trying to figure out how to unlock the Locking Sound Curse, but everything he got was fake.


    No matter how much one tries to conceal one¡¯s own objective, whatever one¡¯s objective is, will be discovered. Yu Jinnian¡¯s curiosity about the Locking Sound Curse was only manifested in the spell itself and was inconspicuously mixed in with various other requirements in the results of countless negotiations, and did not involve Wang Moxuan one bit. However his older brother was too sharp, or he had made use of the divination of the trigrams for help¡­¡­


    In the course of several negotiations, Yu Jinnian had not met directly with Wang Wenyuan. Yu Jiannian and Wang Wenyuan had confirmed the content of their final transaction. About a day and a night ago, the news of Zhu Wuxin¡¯s death spread from Ling Xiao Sect and was delivered by Wang Wenyuan to Yu Jinnian. The Pavilion Lord of Tianji Pavilion said mysteriously that Zhu Wuxin had died as agreed and their deal should end there.


    He wanted the antidote for the Cylindrical Heart Powder, in exchange for other various items required by Yu Jinnian.


    Everything was fine, except for the incantation for the Locking Sound Curse which was fake, but it also caused a strange chain reaction with the Fate Seal. While he was using the blood jade tree peony from Shiwan Dashan to unlock the Fate Seal, this curse that was deeply rooted in the soul also seemed to completely seal off the cultivation base in Wang Moxuan¡¯s body.


    Wang Wenyuan was an old fox5, it seemed as if he had been waiting for this moment. Even when he sent Wang Moxuan out of the Tianji Pavilion to carry out some duties, it was as if he did it intentionally.


    He had never really treated this person as his younger brother.


    He was just a thing used in exchange for the antidote.


    What was most lacking in Shiwan Dashan was a cave. Yu Jinnian lit a stove. He hadn¡¯t even bothered with all the spiritual medicines or precious objects, all he had packed in his storage device was a few items of clothing, and they weren¡¯t even the type that could resist the cold¡­ He didn¡¯t need it, so naturally he didn¡¯t keep it on him.


    Yu Jinnian¡¯s robes carried a faint herbal fragrance, which was now enveloping Wang Moxuan¡¯s body. The latter was wearing a pale blue robe of the Guardian of Tianji Pavilion, with a thick cloak over his shoulders, and his fingers were red and so cold they¡¯d become stiff.


    ¡°Everything else will be sorted without mishap, the Fate Seal has been undone, but¡­¡± Yu Jinnian grabbed his hand and squeezed it into his palm unavoidably, ¡°Your cultivation has been affected and you won¡¯t be able to use it, I don¡¯t know if I can recover it for you.¡±


    There was also the Locking Sound Curse, which could not be undone.


    ¡°You can¡¯t go back to Tianji Pavilion.¡± Yu Jinnian frowned, ¡°Wang Wenyuan is probably waiting to make a fool of me.¡±


    The little mute6 could not speak, and could only use his frozen fingers to sign at him.


    ¡ª¡ªIt¡¯s ok. It¡¯s good that I can leave there.


    Wang Moxuan didn¡¯t even use sign language to fight with him, he just left the Divine Sage of Medicine to entertain himself in this deep mountain forest.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even reply to my letters, you really let Tianji Pavilion fully control you.¡± Yu Jinnian sighed, ¡°Why do I have such a good heart? I am really a physician with a lovely heart of a parent. You will call me father7 in the future.¡±


    Of course what he was saying was utter nonsense. Just as he continued to talk crap for another half a day to not let Wang Moxuan fall asleep, he suddenly felt a tickle on his chest.


    The other¡¯s fingertips were rubbing against his chest, he was writing slowly.


    He wrote ¡°thank you.¡±


    Yu Jinnian was speechless for a moment, his throat tightened. He said after a long time: ¡°¡­ When the snowfall here stops, I will take you to Zhongnan Mountain to find someone. That big devil¡­.. Well, that person is very powerful, even if your brother is able to find your whereabouts, he will not dare to come looking for you again.¡±


    As he spoke, he was also thinking in his head for a while¡­If this person wants to write, he should write, can¡¯t he find a proper place to write, why did he make the atmosphere so improper?


    Author Note:


    Wake up, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s improper.


    In the next chapter, the two CP¡¯s will successfully meet up, one is dumb and one is gravely ill, don¡¯t ask, it¡¯s the Zhongnan Mountain Rehabilitation Centre for the ill.

 CH 34

    It stopped snowing.


    ¡°What books?¡± Chang Qian took a sip of tea.


    ¡°¡¶The overbearing Devil Lord fell in love with me¡·, ¡¶The Devil Lord¡¯s forceful love for me¡·, ¡¶The Devil Lord¡¯s pampered wife ran away pregnant¡·¡­¡­¡±


    Chang Qian suddenly choked, and almost spat out the mouthful of tea in his mouth. He really couldn¡¯t understand these adult¡¯s tastes. Shenxian gege liked to read to pass the time, but why do these devils who were born ruthless and scary also like to read these kinds of common fiction books!


    Just as the little snake was shaken by his own thoughts, he heard the little deer beside him say quietly: ¡°And those two have been sitting there all morning studying those books, and even taking notes.¡±


    Chang Qian: ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°The more I look at them, the more I feel,¡± Ah-Chu continued with difficulty, ¡°that there is a massive issue with the education system in the Devil Realm¡­.¡±


    These two little demons unconsciously became concerned for the country of people of another realm, after that Ah-Chu picked up the cooled bowl of medicine and took it up to the second floor of the little pine house.


    The second floor had a little candle lit, even though it was the light of day it was still lit. Jiang Zheliu was sitting in the corner reading a book, he was wearing a white thin robe, with a silky daoist robe on top, the pankou knots had not been fastened very well.


    The hand that was holding the book was slender and beautiful, the strands of hair that fell by his ears were glossy and sleek as frost. Sitting there quietly, he was so beautiful that it would have made anyone happy and be completely besotted with him.


    Ah-Chu let out another sigh, and thought that the protagonist will always be the protagonist, his destructive force was just too strong. He slowly moved closer but the scent of the Heavenly Spirit Body made him unable to sit or stand still out of nervousness. He swallowed his saliva, settled his mind, and then plopped down beside Jiang Zheliu, and passed him the bitter bowl of medicine.


    Jiang Zheliu finally came back to his senses, he put down the book and took the medicine bowl from Ah-Chu: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Ah-Chu¡¯s face started to burn, he felt that Jiang Zheliu¡¯s weird physique was making him become more and more capricious, he couldn¡¯t resist saying: ¡°Zheliu gege, Why do I feel like¡­ you are getting more and more fragrant¡­..¡±


    Jiang Zheliu couldn¡¯t smell this scent, he had studied the physique with a focused and serious attitude in the secret book that Yu Jinnian had given him. There was no change in his emotions, he glanced down at himself and asked, ¡°What kind of smell is it?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­.. It makes me want to throw you down. It¡¯s like¡­.. Like a¡­.¡±.


    Ah-Chu swallowed down the words ¡°a walking human-shaped aphrodisiac¡±, in his mind he went through ABO, Sentinel-guide, Therianthrop and all other kinds of weird plotlines and tropes, but did not find one similar to this one¡­¡­. However, when he read this book it was a no-CP novel with sadistic plot, even though it was a HE. The content was completely sadistic, but because the protagonist had terrible health from the beginning, it didn¡¯t have any plotlines that wasn¡¯t allowed by JJWXC.


    At this moment, the bamboo curtain outside was tapped once and then lifted up.


    Yu Jinnian walked in leading a young man in pale blue robes with one hand, he turned his head to look at the two devils outside the door whilst pulling up the bamboo curtain, and said with surprise: ¡°What is this, is Zhongnan Mountain opening up for scenery tours?¡±


    Shi Binghen who was outside was hugging his own elbows, he poked at Yan Chuzi who was beside him still taking notes, with a curious face he asked: ¡°How come he can enter the house?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the physician.¡± The future teacher, Yan Chuzi didn¡¯t even look up.


    The two fierce pair of devils listened in from the outside of the wall everyday. They were exactly like a pair of Threshold Guardians. Ever since they came to Zhongnan Mountain with the Devil Lord to learn how to take what you want by all means possible, the mountain spirits and wild demons here all sighed helplessly. Those little demons were even reluctant to show off in front of Jiang Xianzun and therefore had lost their chance at being adopted.


    Especially when they were half-transformed into their devil forms, it was like Jiang Xianzun had taken in two devil hounds. All devils were incredibly thick-skinned, one more ferocious than the other. Every night the two of them would diligently listen in at the corner of the house, Yan Chuzhi could even be heard reciting everyday: ¡°I don¡¯t want to be alone anymore, I don¡¯t want to be alone anymore¡­¡­¡±


    Shi Binghen watched with wide eyes as the other¡¯s standards went from a beautiful and sexy female devil to just a female devil and then fell again to just any devil would do. Recently, it had even dropped to as long as the other person was alive that¡¯ll do it, there was no longer any baseline.


    Although it was the first time that Yu Jinnian had come to the little pinehouse, he was not completely surprised either. He sized up the entire place, noticing that it was completely in the style of the Devil Realm, and admired the Devil Lord¡¯s ability to create a warm nest, until finally finding the most important place in that nest on the second floor.


    He pulled the little mute with him to take a seat.


    Wenren Ye was outside talking to those two devils, but it was not clear what they were discussing. Yu Jinnian took advantage of this opportunity, leaned over and whispered: ¡°That secret dual cultivation manual, have you two tried it yet?¡±


    Hearing the two words ¡®dual cultivation¡¯, Ah-Chu¡¯s eyes immediately opened as wide as a copper bell.


    Jiang Zheliu sighed lightly and said: ¡°Looking at my condition, does it look like we¡¯ve tried?¡±


    The two of them didn¡¯t bother to hide things from the others, on the side there was Wang Moxuan who was dumb so even if he heard it wasn¡¯t a big deal and on the other, it was Ah-Chu who was probably too young to even understand.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    There was a bamboo courtyard next to the small pine building, which was built by Wenren Ye when he first arrived, so this was put to use by Yu Jinnian and Wang Moxuan to live in.


    Because of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s health, Yu Jinnian remained in the small pinehouse most of the time. He sat on the side, watching the little mute respectfully playing Go with Jiang Qianbei, the two of them were playing silently, back and forth, criss-crossing around the board, but it was so silent that there was not even a single sound, except for the crisp sound of the game pieces being placed on the board.


    Wang Moxuan couldn¡¯t speak, Jiang Zheliu was cold and reticent, even if they were having a spectacular game, Yu Jinnian didn¡¯t have the culture to understand and he was actually getting a bit bored.


    He was the unorthodox cultivator, watching these two righteous cultivators coming out of one of the Four Great Immortal Sects to play go Aside from the beautiful sight in front of him that was worth bothering about, Yu Jinnian really didn¡¯t know what was going on, and in the end he couldn¡¯t resist opening his chatterbox mouth: ¡°Was it really you that killed Zhu Wuxin?¡±


    It was truly infuriating, poking at the sore spot that shouldn¡¯t be provoked.


    The fingertips that were holding the go stone paused for a moment, before Jiang Zheliu replied quietly: ¡®En.¡±


    ¡°Decisive beyond my expectations.¡± Yu Jinnian said, ¡°When Wang Wenyuan was negotiating with me, talking about the death of Zhu Wuxin, he seemed to receive the news a lot quicker than others, he must have secretly been spying on Ling Xiao Sect.¡±


    Given Wang Wenyuan¡¯s ultimate goal, it was not surprising that he was watching the Ling Xiao Sect.


    Jiang Zheliu gently turned the go piece between his fingers, and suddenly thought that with age and experience of Zhu Wuxin, it was actually very difficult for him to be able to find a way to enter the bottom of the River of the Dead and be able to wake up He Sorshi.


    Wang Wenyuan might have played a role in it. When all the sects came to pay respects to him that day in Dan Xin Monastery, neither of them had come.


    He was distracted, and his game was not as steady as before, so he was blocked by the youth sitting opposite him, and had lost three white stones in the process.


    ¡°That person is cunning and treacherous, brute force will not work.¡± Yu Jinnian stared at the go board, pretending to understand even though he didn¡¯t understand, ¡°Not to mention that he has a Locking Sound Curse in his hands, I have to think of another way¡­¡±


    ¡°He has already achieved his goal.¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°My shidi is dead, Ling Xiao Sect¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this.¡± Yu Jinnian frowned, ¡°You can¡¯t think too much when you are in this situation, your mind is worn out, and you¡¯re wearing out your body. When it comes to this, I want to ask you¡ª¡±


    His words paused here, he glanced outside to check that there was no one around, and then he heard Jiang Zheliu¡¯s voice.


    ¡°The little devil has gone back with the two devils, as a ruler of a realm, how could he just continue to watch over this wild place, Jiang Zheliu took a sip of tea, ¡°What exactly do you want to say that can¡¯t be heard by others?¡±


    As soon as Yu Jinnian heard that Wenren Ye was not about, he laughed cheekily, he looked at him up and down and then said: ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, it¡¯s just that you don¡¯t have any cultivation to suppress your physique, left neglected for so long, you¡¯re about to die from thirst.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu almost spit out his tea and then he coughed twice, he gripped the teacup firmly, that his fingertips were slightly reddened.


    The little mute opposite him also froze, his gaze was focused on looking at the go board, pretending he hadn¡¯t heard a thing.


    Author Note:


    What good intentions.


    Self-castration was not possible, this would ruin the ¡õ¡õx1 of his next life.

 CH 35

    Devil Realm.


    Blood streamed down the inky black blade.


    A major obstacle in the Xuan Tongju Gate had been resolved, a giant creature with thick skin was crushed underneath his foot.


    Fierce bony spurs had grown out from his armour and his bone wings had also been revealed. The bone armour had also been soaked in fresh blood. Half of his face had been revealed under the bone armour and was embedded with a purple gemstone, he was very close to entirely transforming into his devilish form.


    He lowered his hand to pull out the red blade embedded in the giant creature¡¯s skill, and it disappeared into thin air.


    Although Wenren Ye had two knives, in reality, he barely used them both at the same time.


    The devils surrounding him had all sustained some sort of injuries, Shi Binghen had lost half his hand, half his palm had been melted off by the corrosive mucus from the giant creature, his blood was dripping and making a *di di da da * noise on the floor. His original form was also extremely terrifying. He had a single horn on his forehead and a pair of blood-coloured wings, his entire body was covered in complicated devilish markings.


    According to his breathing pattern, he would still live. Although he¡¯d lost his hand, he could still grow a new one, to fight was this race¡¯s innate skill, but it was still really painful, that all of these great devils were gasping for breath.


    Holding his sword in one hand, the injuries sustained all over his body were slowly healing, he watched as his Devil Lord retracted both of his knives, and then suddenly used his claw to pierce into the giant creature¡¯s brain.


    Wenren Ye had to dig around its mushy brain before he finally found the colourless gemstone. He used a bit of devilish energy to clean it, and then carefully placed it into his storage device, and then his entire body started to retract all of the bone spurs.


    Wenren Ye walked around the giant creature and stopped in front of the treasure that it was guarding.


    Xuan Tongju Gate was located underneath the Devil Realm, all of the creatures and the treasures were completely naturally formed, and in order to obtain these items, they had prepared for a very long time.


    Wenren Ye reached out and picked up a glowing smooth pearl, and glanced over the densely packed script that was running all over the pearl.


    Pearl of Destruction.


    This thing had appeared once before three thousand years ago, and at that time, this thing had also been found in the Xuan Tongju Gate, but back then no one knew what it was used for. This time they had unexpectedly found out that ¡ª¡ª the Pearl of Destruction could break through any boundaries in the world.


    But this pearl was just a container. It was actually a group of indescribable devilish energy aggregated together. It had the characteristics to break through anything and it could be considered as an aggregated form that was one of the mysteries of the Dao in this world. The usage of the Pearl of Destruction was not unlimited, once the limit had been reached it would automatically dissipate.


    In this world, the main boundaries in place were ¡ª¡ª the four Great Immortal Sects¡¯s boundary which was a giant protection spell to withstand the enemy¡¯s attack, the Demon Realm¡¯s special boundary to hide the location of the Four Divisions Furnace. Even the water of the River of the Dead which could block all communication with the outside world from the Netherworld was a kind of boundary.


    Wenren Ye stared at this thing for a moment, and remained silent for a long time without moving.


    Until he heard the approaching footsteps.


    Shi Binghen had turned back into human form, aside from the single horn on his forehead. He smelled of blood all over, and stopped beside Wenren Ye.


    ¡°Devil Lord.¡± The great devil dressed in red said, ¡°regarding the Devil Queen¡­..¡±


    ¡£ His words pause here slightly, and the meaning is self-evident.


    The Devil Realm was gloomy all year round, and it was extremely rare to see a bright day. Most of them had the feeling of being covered by dense clouds, and the darkness weighing heavily on top of their heads.


    ¡°He can¡¯t do it.¡± Wenren Ye said in a low voice, ¡°He¡¯s already got his hands full.¡±


    Wenren Jian handed over the Devil Lord position to him so quickly, not only because his son was a more able fighter, but because¡­ his Heavenly Tribulation was around the corner, it was unknown when it would happen, and his chances of survival were also hard to predict.


    After hearing these words, Shi Binghen let out a deep breath and put his hand down.


    The blood dried up and settled into a dark red colour.


    ¡°Devil Lord.¡± Shi Binghen looked up, and then looked in the distance of the Xuan Tongju Gate, and suddenly said, ¡°There are many trees in Zhongnan Mountain, but they will never grow in the Devil Realm.¡±


    Wenren Ye followed his gaze and saw the withered branches and buds on the edge of the cracks.


    ¡°There is only light up there.¡± Shi Binghen said, ¡°We want to climb up there to see the light, is that so wrong?¡± The broken palm of the great red devil stopped bleeding. He glanced back and saw the other devils in the distance staring over, their expressions were all different, but they all seemed to be silently waiting for something.


    ¡°Shi Binghen.¡± Wenren Ye said: ¡°We can start the preparations.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After the snow stopped, a rare night of northerly wind blew in.


    Yu Jinnian was still looking for a solution for his current impasse, in order to prevent any further unexpected events from happening. But he still had not found a solution, the changes were coming faster than the solutions.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body temperature started to rise again.


    In the evening, on the ledge of the window of the little pinehouse were two snow butterflies.


    Under this kind of a weather, for a butterfly to be able to fly up there meant that they were definitely more than ordinary,


    Jiang Zheliu put down the book, and reached out to rub his temples. He hadn¡¯t seen but had felt that those two icy cold snow butterflies had flown over and landed on his sleeve.


    Zhongnan Mountain had a lot of spirits and demons but none of them were evil. Jiang Zheliu had already promised Wenren Ye that he couldn¡¯t adopt any more little demons from the mountain, so from then on he¡¯d only take a look but since they had already landed on his sleeve anyway.


    Two snow butterflies jumped a few times on the soft silk and landed on his knuckles, and then fluttered their wings a few times.


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t pay attention to them, but drank a sip of tea to wet his throat, and then he started to feel sleepy again ¡ª¡ª the amount of time he needed to sleep had always been variable, but his mind was easily tired.


    His beloved chair was made of bamboo strips and vines, and its curvature fitted his body perfectly. Two layers of soft velvet blankets were spread on top of it, and the fur was white. Jiang Zheliu was wearing a pale blue outer cloak, and his long frost-coloured hair fell softly at the edge of his neck, sliding down with his movements.


    He only wanted to take a nap, but he had lost all control after falling asleep. His hand was still holding an ancient text, the fingers slightly loosened, neatly placed on top, as if with one pull, one could directly get the book from his hands. The fingers that were pressed on top of the book were slender and beautiful, with a translucent quality, it was just that the nails were too pale.


    Two snow butterflies landed on his shoulders. After a while, when they had confirmed that Jiang Zheliu was really asleep, the two butterflies immediately flew to the other side of the room and transformed into two young twins.


    They looked around sixteen or seventeen years old, they were exquisite and beautiful, but they also looked very sneaky.


    It was not easy for a butterfly to become a spirit, let alone in a place like Zhongnan Mountain. The two young men in white robes even breathed very lightly, for fear of waking him up, but then stupidly lowered their bodies towards him and looked at Jiang Xianzun.


    ¡­ So fragrant, sweet.


    The other little demons were not as bold as the two of them, nor were their original forms as convenient as these two butterflies. The young man on the left looked at him quietly for a long time. He just wanted to come over and take in a deeper breath, but the more he took in the scent, the more addicted he became. He was becoming weak all over2, he swallowed, and stretched out his hand towards Jiang Zheliu.


    But his younger brother next to him was much bolder. He watched nervously for a long time, and then reached out his hand around the corner of the opponent¡¯s robes, then raised his finger and pulled his own light green belt loose.


    ¡°What are you doing!¡± The youth on the left glared at him, using the voice projection method to speak into his ear.


    ¡°Ge, what are you nagging about?¡± The little brat smiled and whispered, ¡°Our butterfly bodies are laced with Hypnotic Phosphorus Powder, Xianzun won¡¯t be able to wake up.¡±


    But Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t live alone. Even if he succumbed to Hypnotic Phosphorus Powder, they still had to be very careful not to alert the other people.


    It could also be said that the two of them were particularly courageous. The other demons knew that if they were discovered it was a certain death, but these two butterflies were the type who would prefer to die under the tree peony blossom, plus butterflies as a species were also unable to resist any sort of sweet fragrance.


    The youth gently pulled his belt loose, pulled off his outer robe, and touched the other¡¯s thin snow-coloured robe with his fingertips. At this time, his entire being had already been overcome with this sweet scent, he was completely captivated. The snow butterfly¡¯s heart was beating like a drum, his mind was buzzing, he had lost all reason.


    His hand touched the back of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body temperature was a bit high, which is different from the rumours. The youth leaned forward slowly, looked at Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand carefully, then slid the book from his grasp and held him.


    ¡°What else do you want to do?¡± his older brother asked him with a trembling voice.


    From the moment that the two of them had landed on the wooden window ledge, they had completely lost their focus. Even if, originally they had just wanted to come take a look and broaden their horizons, at this moment, their minds had extended to an area of indescribable filth.


    ¡°Nothing much.¡± The youth replied indiscriminately. He slowly started to move his hands around on the snow-white robe, trying to find the white belt and button to undo it but after looking for a long time he couldn¡¯t find it. He finally couldn¡¯t suppress his beating heart any longer, and he couldn¡¯t help but touch Jiang Xianzun¡¯s sleeping face.


    ¡°Ge, I want to, well¡­. I want to¡­..


    ¡°I think you want to die.¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± The young man replied thoughtlessly, then lowered his head and stared at Jiang Zheliu, getting closer and closer, he was just muttering a load of nonsense, ¡°Although I have no experience, I will be very careful. I won¡¯t hurt you, don¡¯t be angry, okay? Well¡­you really smell good¡­ better than all the flowers¡­¡±


    There was no point in him saying all this, because he already knew that the other would never agree. But this butterfly¡¯s brain had already been consumed with desire, if the knife of lust which had been hanging over the head fell down, it would not be unusual. The youth made up his mind, he wanted to take Jiang Zheliu away. He had just stretched out his hand, and hadn¡¯t even had the chance to pick him up yet when he saw the ink bracelet slowly begin to glow.


    *Boom*¡ª¡ª


    This sound not only alarmed Ah-Chu and the neighbours in the bamboo courtyard but it also woke Jiang Zheliu from his deep slumber. He slowly came back to his senses thinking it was thunder, and it was just Zhongnan Mountain¡¯s strange weather, with the end of the snow comes the rain. He looked up and saw the opposite side, the second floor wall of the small pine house and even the railings outside had been shattered. He wasn¡¯t sure where it had all flown off to, but there was a giant hole in front of his eyes.


    All the places where the devilish energy had hit were cracked, causing the thick layer of snow to turn into a sort of mist.


    This was called snowflakes fluttering in the miserable northerly wind.


    So cold.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s state of mind had not fully recovered yet, as he was still affected by some of the butterflies¡¯ Hypnotic Phosphorus Powder. His mind was still trapped on the words that he had read before falling asleep when the temperature suddenly dropped. Before he could react, he was swept up inside a black cloak that was steeped in the scent of pine and cypress.


    A familiar person picked him up, there was a sweet scent of pine and cypress accompanied by a hint of coldness, but the body that came close to him was warm, and the way he was holding him was also comfortable.


    Jiang Zheliu leaned into his arms, and closed his eyes, he said sleepily: ¡°You¡¯re back¡­..¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Wenren Ye answered, he paused for a slight moment, and then frowned: ¡°Why are you so hot? Did you catch a cold?¡±

 CH 36

    Was it possible to catch a cold from just a moment in the wind?


    Jiang Zheliu was not at all on the same wavelength as Wenren Ye.


    He thought that Wenren Ye meant the wind that had just crept in through the giant hole. He had not completely recovered his senses, so he just lifted his arms and put them around the other¡¯s neck, and after a long pause said: ¡°¡­¡­ It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Wenren Ye still thought that Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body temperature was a little too high, and the scent he was exuding was also far too sweet and unctuous which was confusing his mind.


    The devil¡¯s sensitivity levels were not as strong as the demons, so his reaction to it was not as severe either, but at this moment, Wenren Ye was also losing a bit of focus because of Jiang Zheliu.


    Jiang Zheliu felt incredibly light, Wenren Ye carried him downstairs to get away from the wind, putting him on the soft bed1 by the furnace. Then he was told off by Ah-Chu who shouted loudly in shock, asking Wenren Ye to fix it at least temporarily and then sort it out properly later.


    The little deer¡¯s hooves made a *pitter patter* sound as he jumped up the staircase, stopping at the top of the stairs.


    There was a bell hanging over the upper corner of the soft chair, and the occasional crisp ringing sound was made with the slightest movement of the net around the bed.


    Wenren Ye sat at the edge of the bed watching him.


    He was still the same ¨C falling asleep so easily. The feeling of exhaustion was engraved upon his eyebrows, he had absolutely no energy to do anything. His speech was also cold and the sentences were concise and calm, as if saying even one more sentence would exhausting for him.


    Wenren Ye took off Jiang Zheliu¡¯s outer cloak and outer robe gently, and then covered his shoulders with a soft and light brocade blanket, covering him tightly and even covering a small part of his jaw. His exposed thin lips were slightly pursed. It seemed that due to his abnormal body temperature at this moment, that even the lips were a little dry.


    Wenren Ye took a few more glances at him, but in his heart, a couple more of the little deers began crashing to their deaths. He stared at Jiang Zheliu¡¯s lips without blinking, then lowered his head and moved closer to him, until he could feel Jiang Zheliu¡¯s breath which was actually a little warm.


    ¡­¡­. What was happening, his body temperature was so odd.


    He was shocked, whilst his heart was continuing to beat nervously, he was having serious trouble trying to think straight. He reached out and shook Jiang Zheliu¡¯s shoulder lightly.


    ¡°Zheliu?¡±


    No reply, this person had really fallen into a deep sleep.


    He reached into the quilt and pressed his hand against the other¡¯s chest through a thin layer of his undershirt. He realised that Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body temperature had risen far too much, and his mind began to run wild until he remembered that Jiang Zheliu had told him before about the Heavenly Spirit Body¡¯s special characteristics, and he was temporarily relieved.


    But Wenren Ye still wanted to ask after him.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡±


    The little devil was stuck close to his cheek, and he could feel the warm and rich scent that was coming from the other¡¯s breath, which almost lingered around in the air.


    Jiang Zheliu was like a piece of sweet and soft pastry stripped of its packaging, exuding a sweet scent that had been delivered to the tip of his mouth, making him want to take a bite.


    He originally thought that he had good self-control and extraordinary endurance. Then he saw Jiang Zheliu open his eyes slightly. He didn¡¯t know if he understood what he had been saying, but Jiang Zheliu raised his hand and grabbed a hold of his fingers.


    His fingertips were a little moist, but he didn¡¯t have any strength so he was holding Wenren Ye¡¯s hand very softly.


    Wenren Ye had completely forgotten what he wanted to say.


    All that was left was only an uncontrollable impulse in his mind.


    Jiang Zheliu closed his eyes again. He seldom actually got this tired, usually he could at least exchange a few sentences with him, but at this moment, he just slightly shifted more closely to the little devil, resting his head upon his sleeve.


    Jiang Zheliu also loosened the fingers entirely on his hand, as if he was just resting on his hand.


    ¡°Zheliu?¡± Wenren Ye took a deep breath, guessing that this physique was having an effect on him, ¡°Are you really okay like this? Wake up, I¡¯m worried.¡±


    He had to be the evil person who wouldn¡¯t let the other person sleep.


    The little devil coaxed patiently before making Jiang Zheliu open his eyes again.


    Those pair of pitch-black eyes were still a little dazed, and he stared at Wenren Ye¡¯s face for a long time, before finally finding a response, and said with not too much certainty: ¡°Should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Should be?¡± Wenren Ye asked with a frown.


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Jiang Zheliu was still a little sleepy at this time, he buried into the quilt and said quietly, ¡°Maybe you should hold me.¡±


    He spoke in a very calm manner.


    Wenren Ye¡¯s mind went blank.


    He felt that his self-control had been obliterated, his entire body became rigid as he let these words sink in. He didn¡¯t know if he was overthinking things, or Jiang Zheliu was talking nonsense from being too sleepy or was it that the two of them interpreted the contents in different ways¡­¡­ This sentence was even more bewitching than the sweet and onctuous fragrance overflowing from the other¡¯s body, making his mind completely frozen.


    He looked down at Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand.


    It was usually pale and colourless. At this time, it was slightly pink, and it was smooth all over, like a piece of jade.


    The Devil Lord swallowed, then gripped Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand, leaned in towards his lips and kissed the corners of his lips lightly, with a hoarse voice he said: ¡°You won¡¯t be able to¡­¡­. take it right now.¡±


    He was taken aback by the sound of his own voice. The concealed passion in his voice was too obvious, it couldn¡¯t be suppressed no matter what.


    Jiang Zheliu was kissed by him, and with his eyes closed he responded vaguely. It was not obvious whether he had heard what the other had said. After a few seconds, when Wenren Ye stopped, he slowly moved closer, tentatively kissing Wenren Ye.


    No one could resist this.


    The little willow¡¯s lips were dry and slightly hot, and the tip of his tongue was soft, swiping lightly across his teeth, as if he wanted to kiss him, but he didn¡¯t have enough strength. Even if he took the initiative, it was also as if he had a desire to resist. He encircled his arms around Wenren Ye¡¯s neck and kissed him slowly, without any real passion. Instead, it seemed more like he was trying to calm Wenren Ye down, like he was feeding his wolfdog some cake.


    It was too sweet.


    ¡°What is it¡­¡± His voice was very soft, and it didn¡¯t sound like he was deliberately teasing him.


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me that.¡± Wenren Ye looked at his red lips, stretched out his hand and touched it a few times, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you who asked me to hold you?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu ignored him, and after a long period of thought, he said, ¡°¡­Just leave it alone, I¡¯ll be fine after I sleep.¡±


    He could ignore his own burning Heavenly Spirit Body, but he couldn¡¯t ignore the little devil who was also burning up.


    This person had strongly aroused Wenren Ye¡¯s desires, so he certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to calm down so easily. He encircled Jiang Zheliu¡¯s waist, lowered his head to his ear, and said: ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that you couldn¡¯t take it, I would just keep pestering you. Just to let you know, there are some things that you can¡¯t just randomly say like that.¡±


    His breath was incredibly hot, hitting the base of his ears making them numb. Jiang Zheliu¡¯s sensitive spots shouldn¡¯t be touched, as soon as they were touched, his waist would weaken. Fortunately, it was not obvious upon the bed, he had made it impossible for Wenren Ye to sleep, so he had to coax him: ¡°I¡¯ve made a mistake this time, are you going to continue to pester me?¡±


    The little devil moved away the hair around his ears, and then rubbed his fingertips against the base of the other¡¯s ears, when he saw a crimson glow on his snow-white skin, softly dispersing.


    He heard Jiang Zheliu lightly breathe in with some endurance.


    Wenren Ye¡¯s heart was palpitating, he was becoming more and more nervous, it was an almost indescribable feeling. But he couldn¡¯t stop his own hands, and continued to knead Jiang Zheliu¡¯s red ears, then he leaned down and buried himself in Jiang Zheliu¡¯s neck, smelling the coolness of ice and snow mixed with the sweet scent within the other¡¯s body heat.


    His sharp canine teeth nibbled on the frosty skin.


    He evidently didn¡¯t use much force, but Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body flushed red when touched, so delicate, from just one light bite, there was already a tooth mark, and even the surroundings were red.


    Wenren Ye moved up from his neck and licked his earlobe.


    His hand was squeezed tightly.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s spirit was completely awake, his body tightened, and his palms were wet. He held onto Wenren Ye¡¯s fingers tightly, and his breath suddenly became messy.


    ¡°You¡­¡± He pressed his breath, ¡°Stop messing around.¡±


    Wenren Ye¡¯s movements stopped for a moment, and then slowly cupped the other¡¯s cheeks, his purple eyes deepened another shade, ¡°Didn¡¯t you like it?¡±


    It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t like it.


    Jiang Zheliu avoided his gaze, fearing that he would lose self-control. If he really died on the Devil Lord¡¯s bed, this method of death would be too shameful, he didn¡¯t want it to become an odd tale for all eternity.


    After all, Jiang Xianzun had a wealth of life experience, and he was very capable of empathy. He stretched out his hand to touch the devilish horns, then rubbed his head. He then turned his head to the side, and whispered: ¡°I don¡¯t know how much I need to recover to solve this physical problem.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Hmm.¡±


    The little devil was still sulking.


    Who would have thought that the Devil lord could be so angry over this.


    ¡°I was wrong just now.¡± As the senior, Jiang Zheliu was very magnanimous and never shied away from admitting his mistakes. ¡°I¡¯ve made you uncomfortable.¡±


    When his beloved spoke, it was as if he did not have enough breath to speak, the sound of each word that came out was very light and abrupt. The words were not particularly convincing, but his dictation was like his breath as light as a feather, bringing with it a cold sweet fragrance.


    Wenren Ye began to feel excited again.


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t hear his answer, and thought that it was strange, until he felt Wenren Ye¡¯s extremely hard horns against the palm of his hands, he also felt something else very hard that pressed against him.


    Jiang Xianzun, who prided himself on being an elderly person, was silent for a long while, and slowly withdrew his hand, his head buzzing from the size of the thing rubbing against him.


    He moved quietly to the side of the soft bed without batting an eyelid.


    ¡­No way, this wasn¡¯t something mere mortals could take.


    He suddenly developed a strange respect for Chang Qian¡¯s mother, and felt that she was admirable to suffer in the name of love.


    He figured himself to not be as admirable. He simply wanted to hide.


    Not waiting for Jiang Zheliu to move any further away from him, Jiang Zheliu was picked up by Wenren Ye and embraced him in his arms without the slightest bit of embarrassment.


    Jiang Xianzun who had not known fear for a thousand years¡­ was a little scared at that moment.

 CH 37

    Yu Jinnian worked overtime to delve into an action plan but didn¡¯t really come up with anything in particular to solve the problem.


    He examined Jiang Zheliu¡¯s pulse again, whilst Wenren Ye sat on the sidelines watching over them.


    ¡°He just has a heightened body temperature.¡± The Divine Sage of Medicine stroked his chin whilst thinking, ¡°He just needs to take care of his health for a little longer to recover some more, but if he still doesn¡¯t recover enough, then the only solution is to use some stronger medicines to support him and let Wenren Ye take a stab at it.¡±


    Those who were present all knew what ¡°take a stab at it¡± meant.


    Jiang Zheliu coughed lightly, he kind of wanted to cower away. But he did not show it, and continued to ask: ¡°Stronger medicines?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Yu Jinnian sighed, ¡°It won¡¯t be too good for the recovery of your health, but there is no other way, if you get to the point that you cannot resist any longer, then the consequences are really unthinkable.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu nodded quietly.


    His body had still not returned to normal, now that he had taken his medicine, he seemed to be in better spirits, but his body temperature was higher than normal.


    Even Yu Jinnian who was a mere mortal could smell this faintly discernible scent.


    This matter had been temporarily put to rest, Yu Jinnian turned and changed the subject: ¡°These last few days, I have been communicating with Qian Tong and Kun Tong, asking them to find out if Wang Wenyuan has been up to much¡­..¡±


    Qian Tong and Kun Tong were the two little ginseng children.


    He paused for a moment, and then looked at Jiang Zheliu pensively for a while, and then said: ¡°Tianji Pavilion isn¡¯t really doing anything out of the ordinary at the moment, they have just announced that er-shaoye has gone into closed door meditation. But over at Ling Xiao Sect¡­. They wish to have their sect¡¯s precious treasure returned.¡±


    Ling Xiao Sword was still at Zhongnan Mountain.


    Jiang Zheliu lowered his head to drink his tea, just letting the tea wet and moisturize the lips. As he was looking down, it was not possible to see his facial expression. On the contrary, Wenren Ye who was sitting beside him furrowed his eyebrows, and his body emitted a vicious aura.


    ¡°Since Zhu Wuxin is dead, no matter who takes charge of Ling Xiao Sect, he must also have the treasure in his hand.¡± Yu Jinnian shared his analysis, ¡°With the Devil Lord present, they wouldn¡¯t dare to come here and take it with force, but they will probably come under the facade of righteousness and morality, crowing like a cock and stealing like a dog1 to try and threaten you.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s gaze was still upon the contents of his cup, until he finally looked up, looking far outside the window of the little pine house at the pine trees that had survived the cold winter wind and snow.


    The branches of the pine trees were covered by frost and snow.


    He was sitting next to the little devil, his body temperature was high and he was wearing thick clothing, he shouldn¡¯t have felt cold, but at this moment, his fingertips were still slightly frosty.


    Jiang Zheliu closed up his palm, slowly kneading those cold fingertips, his expressionless face looked down at them for a while, and then he said: ¡°All in the name of reputation and of benefit, in the end it¡¯s difficult to entrust it to anyone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing.¡± Yu Jinnian said with a slightly sarcastic tone, ¡°The Leader of the Four Great Immortal Sects, It¡¯s just a pit dug for you. Okay, don¡¯t think about it too much. You have to let go of this matter and choose someone to give the sword to, let the jackals and wolves2 tear each other apart, and not let any dirty blood splash upon you. ¡±


    Jiang Zheliu rubbed his fingertips. He didn¡¯t want to answer, but he couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°That¡¯s my sword.¡±


    Yu Jinnian was taken aback, as if it was the first day that he had met him, and he said in surprise: ¡°Jiang Xianzun, when you gave the sword to Zhu Wuxin, why didn¡¯t you know then that it was your sword?¡±


    The little devil stared at his hand, and when he saw the other party put down the teacup, he turned and pulled Jiang Zheliu¡¯s finger over into his arms and rubbed them ferociously.


    Why was this the only place that was still ice cold.


    His hands were very strange, they would turn red and flushed when he was exerting a lot of force or when he was feeling angry or embarrassed. Each joint was slightly pink, resembling a rose-tinted cloud. But normally, under the light, it was white and transparent, his nails had no sign of vitality, and his frail body was slender and could easily break.


    Having his hands rubbed by the little devil, he didn¡¯t really know what to say to Yu Jinnian. According to his age and seniority, he was the elder, but according to the current situation, he could not ignore the instructions of his doctor.


    He thought for a while before slowly saying: ¡°If¡­ I really want to¡­¡±


    ¡°Wanted to do what?¡± Yu Jinnian originally wanted to drink his tea and leave it as that, it was not like anyone was going to immediately die. But he was irritated by this half a sentence, thinking that this person still wanted to go and offer up his life for that group of b*stards. Staring at him, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±


    ¡°¡­Want to hold a sword.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu calmly finished the second half sentence.


    Yu Jinnian exhibited a ferocious angry face before he froze suddenly, and slowly calmed down, then glanced over at him a few times, and said: ¡°You want to restore your cultivation now? It¡¯s too late, it¡¯s impossible. Unless you die, and have your corpse refined into a puppet, and then use the method of necromancy, that would perhaps be the only way to recover your body. But given the fragile state of your soul, you can¡¯t even reincarnate.¡±


    To reincarnate and keep your memories, the soul must have the corresponding cultivation realm. Although Jiang Zheliu had the cultivation realm, his primordial spirit was too fragile and couldn¡¯t support reincarnation at all, his soul would most certainly return to heaven and earth.


    ¡°Refined into a puppet?¡± Jiang Zheliu seemed to think of something, ¡°As far as I know, the only person who is able to do this, is the Lay Buddhist, Wang Xiangtai of the Netherworld¡­¡±


    Although He Sorshi was the master of the Netherworld, he was bound by the giant chains, and was unable to leave his own body. So many things were taken care of by other ghost cultivators in collaboration. For example, the Lay Buddhist, Wang Xiangtai who Jiang Zheliu had just mentioned.


    These ghost cultivators in the Netherworld seemingly acknowledged He Sorshi as their master, but in fact they only really worked for the Netherworld. So even like the last time when the River of the Dead trembled and shook, as long as they didn¡¯t want to come, these ghost cultivators wouldn¡¯t come.


    Wang Xiangtai¡¯s surname was Liu, but his actual name was unknown. Together with the Bridge Master of Naihe Bridge4, they were the actual rulers of the Netherworld.


    Just after he finished speaking, he noticed two sets of eyes staring at him.


    The little devil¡¯s purple eyes had turned completely dark, and he looked at him intently. Yu Jinnian was understanding within his own confusion, and added: ¡°If you really want to treat yourself like this¡­¡±


    But it was also very warm, wrapping up his fragile soul, and then slowly digging into the depths of his primordial spirit, slowly fitting and gradually blending with his soul.


    This had started a bit too suddenly, but because of the dependency created from before, it was not so difficult for him to accept.


    Jiang Zheliu breathed out and whispered: ¡°¡­Come out, stop messing around.¡±


    Wenren Ye did not leave, not only did he not withdraw, but also he pressed against him more deeply, invading Jiang Zheliu¡¯s spirit from the top to the bottom, grasping at the slightest change in his emotions.


    He was like a large hound, stuck close to his neck, his canine teeth were almost about to bite into the slender white neck of the person in his arms, but when it really came down to it, he relaxed and only eagerly licked it.


    ¡°You can¡¯t think like this.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t know why the other suddenly felt so insecure. He lifted up his hand and began to stroke the little devil¡¯s head, finding that feeling that made him feel captivated yet fearful, and whispered: ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t leave me alone.¡±


    This sentence appeared suddenly. But it seemed that it had been lingering for a long time, it was something Wenren Ye wanted to say but never did.


    Jiang Zheliu closed his fist, and some of the other¡¯s hair was caught inside.


    In fact, the little devil knew better than anyone else that he had lived a long life, but that was as short as a day and a night, he would not live for more than another one hundred years. To a cultivator, this really was too short, time flies and in a snap of the finger it would already be over.


    He knew better than anyone that Jiang Zheliu would leave him. But he was more reluctant than anyone to believe this.


    ¡°¡­You¡­¡± Jiang Zheliu¡¯s words paused, and a kiss was placed on his neck, and a thin layer of red flushed up. ¡°¡­Don¡¯t think so much.¡±


    The little devil did not speak.


    The two of them were entwined with each other, lingering together, and even the slightest emotional changes could be felt.


    Jiang Zheliu felt the little devil¡¯s emotions settle down.


    After a while, he felt the warm breath of the little devil tickle his ears, and the other spoke in a low voice.


    ¡°Even if you are angry with me and think that I¡¯ve done wrong in the future, don¡¯t leave me¡­¡±


    Wenren Ye became overly cautious after that incident in the Netherworld, coupled with the recent preparations in the Devil Realm, making his attitude and care for Jiang Zheliu become even more extreme.


    Because of the out of control behaviour of this Devil Lord, it had even made Yu Jinnian try to speak to Jiang Zheliu behind the Devil Lord¡¯s back a several times, trying to find out what happened that day, but Jiang Zheliu ignored him and feigned ignorance to all of his questions.


    The little mute had been very obedient the whole time, whilst Yu Jinnian held his hand pulling him here and there, he looked so obedient and cute, being quiet aside from the sound of his breathing.


    Zhongnan Mountain was isolated from the rest of the world, and the internal and external communication depended on Yu Jinnian exchanging letters with the two ginseng children. This time it snowed for another half a month, so that even the woodcutters did not come up the mountain.


    The mountains were covered by heavy snow, the pine and cypresses were covered with frost, and the branches were covered with a white dusting of snowflakes.


    White plum blossoms fell onto the snow, it was daybreak, and the sky was boundless and vast.


    Just as the morning sun began to come from between the clouds, the sky was pierced by an illuminating light, and then the dragon¡¯s call rang out through the clouds, before crashing into the heavy snow.


    The way all of the demons made their entrance was very similar. When Lie Zhen came over, it was also in this way, as if they wished for the whole world to know¡­ It seemed that the way the demon race made an entrance originated from their methods to attract a mate.


    It was just that when Lie Zhen came, there was not such heavy snow in Zhongnan Mountain. So it wasn¡¯t enough to thrust a dignified Demon Zhenjun into a giant heap of snow.


    Jiang Zheliu sat in front of the window, looking at the pocket in the snow that had been made by something crashing into it, he turned his head and glanced at Ah-Chu who was next to him: ¡°¡­What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± Ah-Chu raised his head and followed his gaze, and then turned back to fan the flames over the small stove. ¡°Did we not break the railing on the second floor last time? When Devil Lord Wenren was repairing it, I¡¯m not sure why but he also made a ditch, where he sprinkled some dust to repel insects.¡±


    ¡­A ditch?


    Jiang Zheliu hugged his hand warmer, whilst wondering how a ditch would work in this kind of weather.


    He estimated that there was a thin layer of ice underneath the thick snow.


    The Azure Dragon was hydrophilic, so she wasn¡¯t too bothered about this kind of weather. It was a spectacle however to see the Demon Realm¡¯s Zhenjun climb out of the ice pocket. And Qing Lin¡¯s weight corresponded to her body composition, which was completely different from Lie Zhen¡¯s Vermillion Bird skeleton which was hollow. In contrast, the Azure Dragon¡¯s body weighed at least a couple of tons.


    Qing Lin glanced at the Go board, her eyes stopped, and said: ¡°I specially came to see you, but you treat me like this, Jiang Xianzun is extremely ruthless.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°Came to see me specifically?¡±


    His tone was gentle but also with a hint of suspicion.


    Qing Lin coughed twice and explained: ¡°Well, I have something to ask of you.¡±


    ¡°En, tell me.¡±


    ¡°After the Pure Flame Pearl was put back into the Four Divisions Pill Furnace, I am the only one left to guard over the Demon Realm.¡± Qing Lin looked at him and said, ¡°A few days ago, a mysterious person sent me a letter, saying that the Demon Realm and the Cultivation Realm would unite to carry out a major event.¡±


    What could the major event be, there was nothing bigger than the Xuan Tongju Gate of the Devil Realm, in which there were countless secret treasures, this was known to everyone.


    ¡°That person told me that there is something behind the Xuan Tongju Gate, which can make the Four Divisions Pill Furnace give birth to a second Zhenjun of the Demon Realm immediately, which could save me years of trouble. He wants me to join hands with him.¡±


    Qing Lin was extremely calm when explaining all of this.


    ¡°Please help me ask Devil Lord Wenren if such a thing really exists. If what he said is false, I will find out who that person is and punish him on the spot.¡± She paused, and continued, ¡°If it is true. This thing, I¡¯m willing to trade any treasure that Devil Lord Wenren wants from the Demon Realm for this. Good friend, please could you do me this favour.¡±


    Qing Lin was a lot more mature than Lie Zhen, she would not easily instigate trouble, and understood how to weigh up the pros and the cons.


    Jiang Zheliu listened quietly, without commenting, and then said: ¡°After how the Demon Realm treated me, you still want me to make an effort for you. Why do I look like I can be easily persuaded?¡±


    The Azure Dragon Zhenjun¡¯s black hair scattered, her blue pupils glowed, and the dragon scales under her eyes glistened with an extremely soft shimmer. She came closer to him, breathed slowly beside Jiang Zheliu for a while, and suddenly said: ¡°Yes, the way you are now, you not only look like you can be easily persuaded, but also easy to bully. Good friend, if you are tired of staying beside Wenren Ye, why don¡¯t you come to Wan Ling Palace for a while, I will give you all my Dragon Pearls to play with¡­¡±


    The dragon pearls of the dragon race would only be given to their other half. Wenren Ye mentioned before they were of different races so a Fate Seal1 cannot be established between them, plus there were several different kinds of seals, including one-way and two-way. But the dragon race was different, after the dragon pearl was divided into two halves, it would have the same effect as a Fate Seal, but they had another benefit, the partner could be of any race.


    Jiang Zheliu was not affected at all by her words, his eyes were tranquil, he looked at her calmly, and said: ¡°You¡ª¡ª¡±


    Qing Lin listened attentively.


    ¡°Are you dragons in heat at the moment?¡±

 CH 38

    Qing Lin faked a smile.


    She watched as Jiang Zheliu calmly took a sip of his tea and after a long while, she finally replied: ¡°No, not yet.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t actually know how long the breeding season lasted for the dragons, he was just throwing it out there casually. But Qing Lin was leaning in closer and closer as if she was having trouble resisting the scent on his body, that even her coral-like dragon horns had revealed themselves.


    Jiang Zheliu moved back slightly a few inches, to avoid the other¡¯s precious horns accidentally impaling him. He put down the tea cup, but Ah-Chu thrusted a bowl of medicine into his hands, the bowl of medicine was still warm and smelled extremely bitter.


    The bitterness was able to slightly conceal a part of his Heavenly Spirit Body¡¯s scent.


    Qing Lin gradually came back to her senses, she wanted to say something but then she hesitated, finally saying whilst thinking: ¡°Good friend, this¡­.. This symptom of yours, how long will it last?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu slowly drank his medicine and then pondered for a while, with a little uncertainty he said: What symptom, the symptom which makes all of you demons become lascivious when you see me?¡±


    Qing Lin: ¡°¡­¡­ I guess.¡±


    ¡°Around seven days.¡± Jiang Zheliu looked at Ah-Chu behind her, ¡°Ah-Chu is still young, he hasn¡¯t even reached maturity yet. Although my little demon here is young, his self-control is much better than yours.¡±


    Qing Lin nodded, the scales under her eyes glistened and reflected the light, she said suddenly: ¡°Devil Lord Wenren¡¯s endurance is astonishing.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu frowned because of the bitterness of the medicine, having been spoilt, his taste buds had changed, he drank extremely slowly, in between the sips of medicine he casually answered: ¡°He¡¯s considerate of me.¡±


    Qing Lin after hearing this, felt a little disgusted inside, but she did not show it, but stayed to chat with Jiang Zheliu for a little while longer, finally departing at around sunset.


    But this time she did not step foot on the snow, and took flight directly into the sky.


    Not long after Qing Lin left, when the horizon had begun to darken but it was not yet nightfall, Wenren Ye and Yu Jinnian returned, having finally found the rare medicinal ingredients that they were searching for.


    Wenren Ye easily sensed that someone had visited.


    The window was only half-closed, allowing the slight wind to bring in the snow and ice from the outside. Jiang Zheliu was sitting in his chair drinking his medicine. Starting and stopping, he had only managed to drink half of it, the medicine had become stone cold.


    He was currently reading a book, the contents were unknown, but he looked extremely calm and indifferent, but the finger that was resting on the page was moving ever so slightly. The little movement exposing his frame of mind.


    Wenren Ye closed the window, and then leaned up very close to him, reached out to fiddle with the fur collar of the robe covering the other¡¯s shoulders, making sure that every inch of his neck was covered up and then he picked him up into his arms.


    Jiang Zheliu was originally happily reading a book, and not particularly paying attention but then he was suddenly picked up into the other¡¯s arms. Even the book that he had only read the half of was taken over to the bed with him.


    ¡­¡­ It didn¡¯t seem like he had a frail body, it was more like he was disabled.


    But as Zhongnan Mountain was still snowing, the floor was still very cold. The little devil didn¡¯t like him getting out of bed, he¡¯d prefer it if Jiang Zheliu would sleep the entire day, so that the Devil Lord could watch over him the entire day¡­¡­ This was some bizarre form of comfort for him, his unconscious mind was basically telling him: If you rest more, you will live longer and you can stay with me.


    It seemed a little childish but in reality, his actions were filled with the fear and the worry of losing Jiang Zheliu, it was just that Wenren Ye was not good at expressing it, aside from through these little concealed gestures.


    The little willow tree had been placed on the bed by him, medicine left unfinished, book left unread.


    ¡°En.¡± Jiang Zheliu glanced at him, ¡°Ling Xiao Sect is a complete mess, it¡¯s the perfect opportunity to seize power, it would be hard for anyone to resist.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to think about this kind of stuff.¡± The little devil¡¯s disgust to this situation made the little willow tree rack his brains a little, ¡°The Devil Realm does indeed have this object, but it would be impossible to make a trade with her, so you should tell her to forget it.¡±


    ¡°There really is such a thing?¡± Jiang Zheliu was rather surprised, which changed his impression on the Devil Realm that they only knew how to fight, and said: ¡°If I have the chance, I¡¯d also like to go to the Xuan Tongju Gate to take a look.¡±


    Inside the Xuan Tongju Gate was just blood and gore, it was not suitable for Jiang Zheliu to go there. Wenren Ye looked at his snow-white robes, and thought to himself that even if that sleeve got even a speck of dust on it, he¡¯d be extremely displeased, so why would he ever let him enter a place like Xuan Tongju Gate.


    ¡°Not only do we have this treasure.¡± Wenren Ye shifted his gaze, looking attentively into his pitch-black eyes, ¡°It¡¯s on your body.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was suddenly quiet.


    Something that he was wearing on his body that was from the Devil Realm ¨C there were only two items: the ink bracelet and the resurrection stone. From the description of it, it was more likely to be the resurrection stone.


    Wenren Ye¡¯s reaction had confirmed his suspicion. The little devil stooped over, and pulled out the necklace that was around his neck from the inside of his robes, his fingertips slowly moving over the smooth milky surface of the rock with its moving wisps of blue.


    ¡°To expedite new life, there is only this.¡±


    The resurrection stone could not be used to resurrect, but it was able to revitalise Jiang Zheliu¡¯s damaged body, it could also make up for the spiritual energy that was lacking in the four divisions cultivation furnace to create new life, speeding up the furnace¡¯s ability to produce a new demon Zhenjun.


    Jiang Zheliu looked down at it: ¡°It¡¯s really powerful and has many usages, that¡¯s not bad.¡±


    ¡°But you were annoyed with me because of it at first.¡±


    Wenren Ye suddenly brought up an old quarrel.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s words got stuck in his throat, he watched as the little devil¡¯s face came closer and closer, those deep purple eyes were completely focused on him.


    Jiang Zheliu was afraid that he would bring up the past again and changed the topic: ¡°I wonder if that mystery person knows that this treasure is around my neck, and is purposely trying to cause a rift between Qing Lin and I, or perhaps even increase the hostility between you and the Demon Realm?¡±


    The second one seemed more likely.


    The way he changed the subject was not particularly natural, but Wenren Ye¡¯s attention was elsewhere. Wenren Ye used his sharp canine teeth to bite down very lightly onto this fair white flesh until it was swollen.


    ¡°I already said you don¡¯t need to think about this stuff.¡± The little devil was a bit annoyed, and pushed him onto the bed, then stayed above Jiang Zheliu and began to rub against his shoulder, exactly like a large dog, it was hardly any better than that good-for-nothing devil horse.


    He was indeed worthy of the title of Devil Lord, eagerly leading the way and using the same actions as his subordinates.


    Jiang Zheliu reached his hand up and put it on the back of the other¡¯s head, and then traced along the hard devil horns on his head and said: ¡°I was only saying, even if I didn¡¯t say it out loud, I wouldn¡¯t be able to resist thinking¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed.¡±


    The little devil was starting to become unreasonable.


    Who could have predicted that one day, the biggest worry for the great Devil Lord was the day to day habits of his beloved.


    ¡°Yu Jinnian said troubling your mind with nonsense can affect your recovery.¡± Wenren Ye cuddled him as he talked, ¡°You previously suffered a heavy injury, due to the news of the fall of Vermilion Bird, and got angered by that shameful person¡­.. From now on, don¡¯t think about these kinds of things. Just keep reading your books and sleeping, wait until it stops snowing and the arrival of spring then you can go outside and enjoy the landscape and start growing some flowers.¡±


    After saying that, he remembered the physical condition of the person in his arms and he changed his words to say: ¡°Watch Ah-Chu and Chang Qian grow some flowers.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu: ¡°¡­¡­ I sound completely useless.¡±


    But this was actually what he had wanted at the start of his retirement, whether he lived or he died, it was all down to heavens, there was no need to struggle to keep on living.


    But now he possessed the will to live, so naturally he wanted to improve his health, or to at least not have such a fickle weak body, that bruised like a peach. Even if this was impossible, he could still make long term plans for the little devil and not be a completely useless person.


    ¡°No you¡¯re not.¡±


    Wenren Ye was terribly angered by the other¡¯s words, and didn¡¯t want to let go of him. Before, he had only half settled his grievances about last time, but the other¡¯s words just now had brought out the rest of his anger. He lowered his head and licked the red spot that he had bitten previously, he was so angry that he wanted to take another bite. He kept licking for a long while but was unwilling to take another bite, instead he said: ¡°Can¡¯t you use better words to describe yourself.¡±


    He was incredibly irritated. He felt uncomfortable like something was poking him, like a great lion that was grooming himself and caused a static electric shock.


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t think that he had spoken badly about himself, but he was experienced and wise, he knew that Wenren Ye could get mad about the oddest things, so he decided to just go along with it: ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t talk about myself like that.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was unaware, and thought that Wenren Ye was still annoyed, he looked back at him, thought about it and then asked: ¡°Unless, good description words in the Devil Realm and the Mortal Realm are different?¡±


    Wenren Ye swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then lowered his head to take in a deep breath of his scent, and whispered: ¡°Most of it is the same.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu nodded.


    ¡°But there are some things that are different. The Devil Realm revere sincerity and courage, but are not too bothered about knowledge.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.En.¡± Jiang Zheliu sighed: ¡°No wonder, it has produced a child like you.¡±


    Wenren Ye¡¯s focus was once again elsewhere, and didn¡¯t notice that Jiang Zheliu was joking, but still frowned: ¡°I¡¯m already grown up, you still think of me as a child?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu wanted to say ¨C based on your age, of course I still think you¡¯re young, but he resisted and he was reminded of something. The roots of his ears began to flush, he coughed lightly and didn¡¯t say a word.


    But Wenren Ye had already started to get angry again.


    The male dignity of the Devil Lord had been challenged. He could only grit his teeth but he did not dare to use force so he could only kiss him gently, and then leave a distinctive tooth mark on his lips, causing Xianzun to suffer such a ¡°huge injury¡± to his red and swollen lips.


    Jiang Zheliu was held tightly as he was kissed and unable to struggle free for a long time, he could only embrace him back and let him have his way, until Wenren Ye¡¯s two devil horns started to rub against him, and then he said: ¡°We found the right ingredients, so Yu Jinnian can make you that medicine, he said I could¡­.. Have a go, you¡¯ve been feverish for so long and haven¡¯t been able to get rid of it. If something else happens, we won¡¯t know how to deal with it.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was slow to react, and decided to ask: ¡°Have a go at what?¡±


    Wenren Ye started at him without blinking, he nervously pulled his hand over and placed it on ¡ª¡ª Jiang Zheliu immediately retracted his hand.


    Now he was the one getting nervous.


    ¡°¡­¡­. Xiao Yu,¡± Jiang Zheliu breathed in very deeply and then exhaled very slowly, having trouble calming himself down, ¡°does he want me to die.¡±


    Wenren Ye: ¡°¡­¡­.. But he said¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°Stop talking about it.¡± The little willow tree face exhibited his displeasure, he turned his body and then pulled up his quilt to go to sleep. ¡°I will die, I¡¯m not listening to the doctor¡¯s orders.¡±


    Wenren Ye: ¡°¡­¡­..¡±


    What could he do? He was feeling a little sorry for himself.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Tianji Pavilion.


    The Tianji Pavilion had a seven-person protection array that was arranged according to the constellation of the Big Dipper1, but right now there were only six people. The Dubhe2 position which was occupied by Wang Moxuan, the younger brother of the Pavilion Lord, and the second young master of Tianji Pavilion who had suddenly disappeared.


    Disappeared was what they were saying to the outsiders.

 CH 39

    Tianji Pavilion had an abundance of stations, so Wang Wenyuan¡¯s whereabouts was uncertain, however it was possible to contact him via a special set of communication methods within the Sect.


    It was quiet all around, except for the sound of water splashing from the indoor fountain.


    The metal frame of this iron cage was extremely special, as the metal had a special needle enclosed inside that was a spiritual device specifically used for sealing monks. Although the craftsmanship looked mediocre, the effectiveness was impressive.


    Wang Wenyuan sat on the side, the clipped wing parrot perched on his folding fan tilted its head looking at him, shaking its head and flapping what was left of its wings. He picked up a gold and jade pipe teasing the bird with it, and said casually: ¡°Since Zen Master refuses to speak, then listen to my divination.¡±


    The parrot was surrounded by the smoke from his pipe, as if it had a button on it which flipped on, it suddenly stood up on one foot, and said: No time left on his life! No time left on his life! Ling Xiao Sect will fall! His life is also at its end!¡±


    The Zen Master Ming Jing who was sitting in the cage slowly raised his eyes and looked at the Pavilion Lord of Tianji Pavilion, who was dressed in Daoist robes and looked particularly unscrupulous.


    Seeing him looking up, Wang Wenyuan smiled and said, ¡°Zen Master, is it correct what it said?¡±


    Ming Jing¡¯s hands and feet were all bound up by chains, so tightly that they were cutting into his skin, making blood slowly drip down the chains. The disciples of Lan Re Temple traveled all year round. After his departure from Dan Xin Monastery and from Jiang Xianzun, he had re-entered the mortal realm alone¡­ but he never expected that someone had been tracking him.


    The long fabric covering over his conical bamboo hat had been picked up by Wang Wenyuan, revealing the Buddhist mark between his eyebrows which glowed faintly. After staring into the empty for a moment, Ming Jing said: ¡°Wang Shizhu1, why must you do this.¡±


    Wang Wenyuan ignored him and teased the bird, and did not answer. Instead, he grabbed the pipe and knocked it on the parrot¡¯s head. The flightless bird immediately jumped twice and tilted his head again and said: ¡°Turbulent times ahead! After his death, the world will be in chaos!¡±


    The parrot talked more frantically and chaotically, and finally flapped its crooked wings, but couldn¡¯t fly, and fell into the palm of Wang Wenyuan¡¯s hand.


    Wang Wenyuan stared at the bird, curled his lips and smiled for a while, it was not known why he was smiling, but then he finally said: ¡°I made a mistake previously on my divinations, so I have to confirm this with you, Zen Master. I don¡¯t want to provoke the secluded Lan Re Temple. Please Zen Master, could you prioritise your own safety first, don¡¯t pull any of this righteousness in the world cr*p, I don¡¯t like listening to that.¡±


    The mistake he was referring to was the time in Dan Xin Monastery. Because of a misreading of the divinations, Yu Jinnian had caused him some trouble. He had left something on Wang Moxuan¡¯s body, whilst Yu Jinnian had also left something out of the antidote to the Cylindrical Heart Powder, so that the poison on his body had still not been completely remedied.


    But he didn¡¯t seem to be too bothered by this, as if he seemed to be enjoying this game played with Yu Jinnian.


    Ming Jing watched him silently, then looked down at the blood staining his hands and feet, and said abruptly: ¡°Old Pavilion Lord Wang died during the suppression of the demons.¡±


    His tone of voice was calm and unwavering, which made Wang Wenyuan, who had always been slow reacting and unflustered, narrow his eyes slightly.


    That was not only the battle where the Old Pavilion Lord died, but it was also the battle where Jiang Zheliu¡¯s reputation had reached its peak. At that time, it was not long after Zhu Wenyuan¡¯s death, Jiang Zheliu had a profound cultivation and a far-reaching reputation, but he was still young. Therefore, that battle was led by the previous Pavilion Lord of Tianji Pavilion, and the Head of the four Immortal Sect at that time, but the Old Pavilion Lord was severely injured due to a sneak attack from the demons, and following that Jiang Zheliu took over the affairs of the Cultivation World.


    And from then on, he became the Head of the Immortal Sects that everyone admired and respected.


    ¡°When the Old Pavilion Lord was gravely injured, Jiang Xianzun guarded him for three days and three nights, almost exhausting his spiritual energy.¡± Zen Master Ming Jing looked at him and said, ¡°Why do you not value friendship.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Zhongnan Mountain.


    After the heavy snow, there was a night rain that continued for two days. Although it was light, it lingered on throughout the night, melting the heavy snow before, and condensing it into a thin frost.


    His temperature had somewhat risen again and the new medicine made by Yu Jinnian had indeed achieved better results. It was now packed in icy jade bottles that were like snowflakes, a thin layer of red paper stuck around the bottles, and then left on the table.


    The pill bottle was very beautiful, and the medicine did not even taste bitter, exuding a light fragrance from the inside out.


    Yu Jinnian sat in front of his patient who refused to cooperate.


    ¡°What do you have to worry about. From just Devil Lord Wenren¡¯s ¡®pride¡¯, could it really ruin you?¡± Yu Jinnian had worked hard to refine a new medicine, although this bottle of medicine had no effect on his long-term healing, it could temporarily increase his physical strength. The medicine was mild, and would not damage his body. ¡°You have been burning like this for nine days. If something happens, don¡¯t come and ask me for help, there¡¯ll be no cure. This won¡¯t be my problem.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu had been getting more and more tired lately, and he was finding it quite difficult to keep focus. He quietly listened to Yu Jinnian, not knowing how to explain to him the issue, and only after a long time he said: ¡°The way that devils copulate¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Yu Jinnian had an indecent look on his face, which immediately vanished in the next instant, seemingly worried he persuaded, ¡°It¡¯s okay, we have been studying this for a long time, Wenren Ye would never do anything that would harm you. Even if you really can¡¯t get used to it, you can start with¡­ uh, rubbing?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t know how the other had so brazenly came out with all this. He stared at Yu Jinnian for a while, and said, ¡°You seem to be looking forward to it.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu actually did feel it.


    Looking at his reaction, Yu Jinnian knew that he was also aware of it, and he felt relieved, and then said: ¡°Just have a go with Lord Wenren. If it works, that would be the best, if there is no way¡­¡±


    His words suddenly paused, Jiang Zheliu wasn¡¯t sure what he had thought of, but the other took out a brocade box from his storage device, his expression was very distressed: ¡°Ask him to let you¡­ adjust to it.¡±


    In fact, his speech was quite implicit and not too direct.


    Jiang Zheliu frowned slightly, not knowing what the other had brought out, and reached out his hand to undo the brass lock on the brocade box, and opened the lid to take a look.


    His fingers froze suddenly, the knuckles that were pressing outside the brocade box began to use a little more force, the joints were slowly turning light pink, whilst his fingertips had turned red.


    Yu Jinnian felt that it was for his sake, a handsome but nosy face leaned forward, and said sincerely: ¡°It¡¯s all good warm jade, and it gets hot when you touch it. It might even feel better than the Devil Lord¡¯s. Your physique just wants you to act, and it doesn¡¯t distinguish between real people and props¡­¡±


    Before he finished speaking, he saw Jiang Zheliu retract his hand, and plonked the teacup down with his other hand making a crisp sound.


    Wenren Ye immediately completed the conversation between the two in his mind, took a deep breath, and felt that he must not disappoint Jiang Zheliu. Then he was so nervous that he almost toppled over, he calmed his mind before holding the brocade box and heading behind the screen.


    He could see a spread of snow white upon the bed, and even his hair and clothes were all white and tidy without any dust. His long hair was a cold, lustrous white, and fell softly, resting on his shoulders.


    Wenren Ye¡¯s throat tightened, and he didn¡¯t know why he was nervous. But in short, he was super nervous. He sat on the edge of the bed, took off his boots, reached into the quilt, and slowly wrapped his body around the other¡¯s shoulders.

 CH 40

    Jiang Zheliu had no idea how to explain to him at this moment that he hadn¡¯t meant to leave the box on the table for this purpose.


    He was like a snow-white rice dumpling, who had already been unwrapped by the little devil, having already removed his outer robes. The little devil had his arm around his shoulders, whilst he lowered his head to kiss him.


    He had only removed two layers, the last undershirt had not been removed yet.


    Jiang Zheliu returned his embrace and asked helplessly: ¡°What did you understand?¡±


    Wenren Ye was too embarrassed to say out loud, but instead fished out a few lubricating creams from his storage device, which looked exquisite from the outside, and exuded a pleasant scent. They seemed to be rather luxurious products.


    ¡­¡­ Given that, aside from treating patients, Yu Jinnian¡¯s main occupation was selling this kind of stuff.


    Jiang Zheliu watched as the other¡¯s temples began to twitch, above those excited purple eyes, after a long while, he finally said: ¡°¡­¡­¡­ When did he give you all these? How long have you two been discussing this¡­.. hm.¡±


    His words were blocked.


    When the little devil first began to kiss him, it was always very delicately and nervously, but it seemed like now he had got used to it, and he seemed to kiss him more passionately. His tongue lightly swept over his teeth, and he was holding onto him not willing to let go and the more he kissed him the more excited he became.


    Jiang Zheliu was finding it hard to breathe, which made the other finally loosen his grip a little. His lips which were usually dry and colourless but had now become swollen and red, with a moist glow.


    The corner of his eyes were also a little red, the redness slowly spreading across his pale skin, resembling a snowfield that reflected the rose-tinted sky.


    Wenren Ye stared at him baffled, he couldn¡¯t help reaching out to smooth over the other¡¯s eyebrows, he leaned in close and said: ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, I¡¯ve wanted to¡­.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu stared at him with red eyes, his mind was not reacting, it was purely his body, the Heavenly Spirit Body made him extremely captivating and alluring, and exuded an extremely sweet scent.


    The little devil wasn¡¯t lying, he had been thinking about it for a long time, and today he finally had the opportunity, his mood was elevated. His gaze was focused on Jiang Zheliu, the more he looked the more the rush of love came forth, he loved him so much, he lowered his head again to kiss him and then nervously undid his own belt.


    Jiang Zheliu couldn¡¯t bear his kiss, his voice softened and he whispered: ¡°You know in your heart your own situation, do you really want to torment me.¡±


    The refusal was not evident, it was quite duplicitous. Wenren Ye swallowed, and turned to kiss his swollen lips, and whispered back: ¡°I would never do that, as long as you are not willing, I will definitely stop.¡±


    What was this, Jiang Zheliu was also a man, did he really have that much resistance that he could have the arrow on the bow and not shoot it. He stayed silent for a moment, and stared at Wenren Ye, as if he did not really believe him.


    But in any case it was permission for him to try.


    The lubricant selected had a faint odour, it was a light plum blossom fragrance. Jiang Zheliu was in his arms, and the last layer of his clothing had begun to roll down, exposing his frosty flesh. His sunken collar bones were delicate and straight, just like two jade spoons that had been placed on his body, it looked as picturesque as scenery carved out of snow and ice.


    Wenren Ye was holding onto his ankle, his fingers were settled around his ankle bone, before sliding up to his calf, he then grabbed it.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s frame was incredibly slender, although, his stature was originally thin, he was currently ill, and his skeleton was naturally narrow, so his calf was completely enclosed within the palm of the great devil¡¯s one hand, and seemed to fit perfectly in there.


    He adjusted his robe which was falling off his shoulders and then buried his head in the duvet, not wanting to watch any longer.


    Just because he couldn¡¯t see, didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t feel anything, and it also didn¡¯t mean that Wenren Ye would let him go.


    ¡°How about like this?¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re saying¡­..¡±


    He was only afraid of hurting Jiang Zheliu, so that¡¯s why he had added more than the usual amount. Although this kind of thing didn¡¯t really have a recommended dosage, he still wanted to be super careful.


    Yu Jinnian¡¯s cream had an aphrodisiac component, and this component had long soothed the drought of the Heavenly Spirit body, becoming one with the cream.


    Jiang Zheliu was feeling sluggish, his body temperature was so elevated that he was completely dizzy. He raised his arms to loop them around Wenren Ye¡¯s neck, pressing into his arms trying to resist, but he could resist no longer, he whispered: ¡°I can do it myself¡­..¡±


    ¡°What can you do?¡±


    This devil was a little dumb, was it possible to return the merchandise?


    Jiang Zheliu buried himself into the other¡¯s shoulders, and then did not move for a long time, all that could be heard was the sound of his light breath.


    Wenren Ye was still having trouble grasping what he meant, so his hands had not slowed down one bit, making the warm jade come in contact with the person in his arms, until the warm jade went in half way and his hand suddenly became rigid.


    ¡­.. What, so he meant it like this? The¡­ The Heavenly Spirit Body can lubricate itself¡­..?


    His body and mind shook, as he¡¯d received another indescribable challenge to his devilish life, he felt that he had gained another level of understanding towards the human race.


    ¡­¡­ Was it really that amazing¡­¡­


    The body in his embrace continued to lightly tremble. Wenren Ye heard the other¡¯s breath was caught in his throat, a very quiet sound that tickled his heart.


    When the other breathed in, it was particularly light, at this time if he had not placated him a little, the little willow tree would lack a sense of security so he decided to embrace him more closely.


    This was too cute.


    Wenren Ye slowly rubbed up against him, and whispered to coax him, to not make him suffer because of his heightened body temperature.


    But Jiang Zheliu still cried.


    He was crying from pain, it was because of the indescribable constitution of his body, which had an over-sensitive reaction to a certain component in the cream. Even if the little devil coaxed him, his physiological reaction was still to produce tears, his eyes were reddened. When one looked at him, he really looked too delicate.


    Originally he hadn¡¯t wanted to but he was unable to change the composition of his body, so he could only let Wenren Ye cup his hands around his face and kiss his tears and even kiss the corners of his eyes which were burning red.


    ¡°Let me blow on your eyelids.¡± Wenren Ye leaned in very close, ¡°Look at me for a moment.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu really didn¡¯t want to look at him, but still let him blow on his uncomfortable burning eyes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Ah-Chu did not sleep well last night.


    He was feeling too joyous from having spent the day chatting to gege, in the evening, he just laid in his bed listening to the noises of the movements coming from upstairs.


    The noise coming from upstairs was too much. It was difficult to describe that feeling, but Ah-Chu felt like the entire house was about to collapse. He was thinking about it and thought it wasn¡¯t possible though, his shenxian gege¡¯s body was so weak, after two hits it would be smashed.


    It wasn¡¯t only Ah-Chu that didn¡¯t sleep, the entire mountain¡¯s demons didn¡¯t sleep either. All of them had their eyes wide open stupidly staring at the dark sky, whilst taking in that sweet scent that was lingering before their noses which had hopelessly blended with a hint of devilish energy, all of them feeling utterly jilted.


    Their beloved, their white moonlight1, in the end, had been defiled by a ruthless killer from the Devil Realm.


    All the little demons of Zhongnan Mountain knew what had happened and all of them washed their faces with their own tears. Those two butterfly demons who had been beaten to the point of being stuck in their original form cried until they couldn¡¯t breathe and had to be dragged away by their demonic friends to go to another place.


    It was a destined night for all to lose their love, even the stars didn¡¯t bother to shine down upon them.


    Last night, it had rained the entire night, and in the light of day, the sky was still overcast. It was extremely cold, Chang Qian lit two furnaces downstairs. He yawned as he cooked the medicine, he was fanning the flames whilst he asked: ¡°Last night, the noises¡­¡­¡±


    This guy was really still too young, and was still aloof to all kinds of romantic entanglements. Before, when he had slept in the same chair as his shenxian gege, his only thought was to be close to him, his thoughts were completely pure.


    Ah-Chu who was standing beside him, shook his antlers, he was speechless, he didn¡¯t know how to explain to the pure and innocent little Chang Qian. After a long while he finally said: ¡°Well¡­ that¡­¡­ urm, your little uncle was venting his energy.¡±


    Chang Qian stayed silent for a moment, and asked curiously: ¡°My little uncle?¡±


    To him, his little uncle was a very cool person. So he was having trouble grasping what the other meant.


    Ah-Chu¡¯s feelings were also a little complicated, he didn¡¯t know if he should be happy that the CP he had predicted had come true, or be upset that he had sacrificed his own feelings. He was lost in thought as he made the pot of tea, the tea had not even been steeped properly, when he saw that the beaded curtain by the entrance had been lifted up. He watched as Yu Jinnian lowered his head and walked in, leading Wang Moxuan who was dressed in black robes.


    His face was riddled with curiosity, he made a gesture at Ah-Chu to keep him silent, and then he sneaked upstairs. He peaked in at the sight upstairs through the curtain.


    The bed was still intact, the table was still standing, it looked like there wasn¡¯t a fierce battle that had taken place here.


    The little mute was still being pulled along by him so could only follow him upstairs, he stared at Yu Jinnian helplessly.


    The floor didn¡¯t have any clothing, all the clothing had been tidied up nicely, there was incense burning on the side. Yu Jinnian went closer and closer, and then heard Wenren Ye¡¯s voice.


    ¡°¡­¡­ does it still hurt? I¡¯ll find you some other medicine.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t move, from the sound of his breathing he seemed to be still busy.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t hurt, last night when you couldn¡¯t take it any longer I stopped. I stopped inside and gave you another piece of the medicine¡­.. How could it be so swollen after one night.¡±


    Author Note:


    Continue to edit x3


    The plot is the protagonist having a fever and being fed medicine and then being kissed, after that the lights went out, forgive me *prays*.

 CH 41.1

    Yu Jinnian did not hear any response from the great Devil Lord, and thought that perhaps these two people were not too compatible in this department, and given the racket last night, it was hard not to be worried for Jiang Qianbei.


    His words came to an abrupt end when he saw Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand drop out from inside the quilt.


    Jiang Xianzun¡¯s hands had always looked good, it was just too slender and fragile, his slender fingers were softly curled up, the sight was truly magnificent. However, the bite mark was too evident, and his wrist was bruised all the way around.


    ¡°¡­¡­.. Oh heavens¡­¡­¡± Yu Jinnian choked on his words, staring stupidly for a long while, he then straightened his face and turned to look at Devil Lord Wenren, and blurted out, ¡°Are you some sort of dog?¡±


    Wenren Ye: ¡°I didn¡¯t use any force.¡±


    ¡°Who would believe that?¡± The divine sage of medicine felt regret, and even doubted his own medical skill. He reached out to take Jiang Zheliu¡¯s wrist, rolling up his snow white sleeve a bit more, and sent a thread of spiritual energy into the other¡¯s body to explore.


    In the beginning, everything seemed normal, it seemed that he had not sustained too serious an injury. It was just that the devil race¡¯s copulation methods were too long-lasting and he was overly tired.


    Yu Jinnian breathed out a sigh of relief, and then saw that the area where he had just exposed by rolling up his sleeve there was a dark red hickey, the teeth marks were very evident, as if the person had bitten very hard.


    His movements stopped and then he glanced over at Wenren Ye like he was looking at some wild beast.


    Wenren Ye¡¯s purple eyes were calm and collected and his face was expressionless.


    ¡°You¡¯re really something!¡± Yu Jinnian choked on his words for a long while and only just managed to spit this out, and then he put down the other¡¯s pale pale icy hand as if he was putting down a precious porcelain vase.


    Jiang Zheliu was in a deep sleep.


    The great Devil Lord who had already been scolded a few times by him did not try to defend himself and only continued to stare at him, and then ask: ¡°¡­¡­..how come¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, how come?¡± Doctor Xiao Yu1 said fiercely: ¡°Don¡¯t you know how to be more gentle?¡±


    Doctor Xiao Yu patted him on the shoulder and sympathised: ¡°Wait till you have to coax him. Just because you want to conceal it from him doesn¡¯t mean he won¡¯t find out right? ¡­.. If it wasn¡¯t for all of the little demons in Zhongnan Mountain having their hearts broken, and abruptly emptying out of here, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to detect that you had deployed the devils.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t leave in the immediate future.¡±


    Wenren Ye glanced over at the bed.


    ¡°Even if you want to leave, it¡¯s impossible to get out.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Yu Jinnian thought that his way of contacting the ginseng children would now also be blocked, he cast at glance at the other, ¡°The Devil Lord is truly ruthless.¡±


    Just as he thought that this description was very much fitting of the Devil Lord, he saw the other very lovingly pour out a cup of tea and leaving it to cool down for Jiang Qianbei, and then sit down by his bedside silently, not moving a muscle but just watching over him, his full attention on Jiang Zheliu, very much resembling the Amah Rock2.


    Yu Jinnian: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Nevermind, he guessed it would just have to be this way.

 CH 41.2

    Jiang Zheliu slept for a day and a night.


    When he opened his eyes, that feeling of utter exhaustion had been slightly alleviated. Outside it was dark, and a slight pitter patter of the rainfall could be heard, there had not been a clear day for a few days now.


    It was as if there was no light.


    But behind the screen, there was a small candle burning, which was giving off a very soft flickering light. In the incense burner, there were remnants of a pine scented incense stick, which had been burning for such a long time so the entire house smelled like Wenren Ye, but this scent was even sweeter and softer.


    Jiang Zheliu looked towards the rain outside the window, raised his hand a little and touched the pair of hard devil horns. The devil horns had blood-red patterns climbing up it, such complicated lines, which were clearly imbued in devilish energy.


    Wenren Ye opened his eyes when he felt his light touch and looked up at Jiang Zheliu.


    The little devil didn¡¯t seem to have slept, but the devils were always very spirited in nature.


    His hand grabbed the cold hard devil horn and played with it for a while before letting go. It seemed that he wanted to say something but his voice was incredibly hoarse so it was as if he hadn¡¯t spoken at all.


    Jiang Zheliu stopped trying to speak, and tried to massage his throat as he looked up at Wenren Ye.


    The little devil was getting nervous and passed him a cup of tea, there seemed to be something else in the cup which was releasing a sweet scent.


    Jiang Zheliu accepted the cup, and discovered that the temperature was just right so he lowered his head to take a few sips. After moistening his lips and throat, he was finally able to force out: ¡°¡­..How long was I asleep?¡±


    ¡°Not too long.¡± Wenren Ye¡¯s expression did not change as he said, ¡°Just for a little while.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu found him odd, and lowered his head to continue drinking the tea.


    His robes were disorderly and had fallen off his shoulder slightly exposing extensive bruising and love bites, which were all proof of Wenren Ye¡¯s ¡®excessive cruelty¡¯. The little devil felt more and more guilty, the more he looked at it, and his gaze was stuck on the other¡¯s body, leaning in closer and closer.


    The Heavenly Spirit Body was no longer feverish, so Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body was no longer releasing that sweet scent, all that remained was the icy cold aura from his Dao body, as well as a vital energy that was coming from the resurrection stone.


    Whichever it was, it was still fragrant and made him want to get closer, get very close.


    Whilst he was thinking about it, he did in fact move closer, a pair of solid devil horns began to rub against Jiang Zheliu and then he got even closer, and turned to embrace him.


    The hand that was holding the tea cup paused and he looked up at Wenren Ye. He was not feeling too comfortable, but the little devil had already got up close as if he had smelled some delicious snack, and then he stuck right up against his ear to speak.


    ¡°Is there anywhere that hurts?¡±


    Of course there is.


    Chang Qian stood beside his little uncle, and seriously denounced the fact that his shenxian gege was ignoring him, and then he delivered the bowl of medicine behind the screen¡ª¡ª And saw all the bruises and marks on Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body.


    Chang Qian¡¯s mind went blank, he looked at the faint red mark upon the other¡¯s fingertips, and then stuttered: ¡°Gege, you¡¯re okay right¡­¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu found it more and more difficult to swallow the medicine and it was so bitter that he frowned. As soon as he heard this he realised that Chang Qian had misunderstood the situation and explained: ¡°It actually doesn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    No one would believe that. Chang Qian stared with wide eyes for a long while, and then turned and left, when he went past Wenren Ye, he completely ignored him and went downstairs.


    Not long after that, Ah-Chu found out about the mistreatment of his shenxian gege.


    Wenren Ye stared at him for a long while and then suddenly said: ¡°If it¡¯s just like this then it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked up in astonishment, and stared at the little misjudged devil.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At the same moment, at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain.


    After a rainy night, there was a rare clear sky, the evening light was bright and the stars filled the sky.


    A flying device stopped at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain, stopping in front of the dense pine and cypress forest.


    Upon the flying device was engraved a crest of a fierce and sharp looking sword, it was the Ling Xiao Sword.


    But they couldn¡¯t enter Zhongnan Mountain.


    It seemed that there was some sort of invisible barrier around it, stopping all movement in and out. No living thing could enter.


    Author Note:


    Shi Binghen¡¯s devilish form consists of blood-red bat-like wings, the bones are just added support.


    Yeye¡¯s devilish form consists of bone wings without any flesh or skin, impossible to nibble on (?)

 CH 42

    In the dim light of night, there was a faint sound of blood flowing.


    Shi Binghen loosened the grip of his hand and threw the crushed skull into a pile of flesh and blood, which then melted into bone powder, a phosphorus flame appeared and then completely extinguished and everything disappeared without a trace.


    He wiped his fingers clean, and then turned his head to look at the snow-white horizon, staring at it for a moment, and then said to the female devil next to him: ¡°I will have to join our Devil Lord from now on so I cannot guard this mountain. The barrier has been put up, I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡±


    The female devil next to him was about 1.75 meters tall, she was tall and slender with her hair tied up into a high ponytail, and she was wearing a white eagle mask obliquely over her face. Her name was Gongyi Yan. At this moment, she was wiping the blood from a long knife in her hand, she replied: ¡°En.¡±


    The surnames of the devils were relatively rare in the Cultivation World, whilst the most common surnames in the Cultivation World were very rarely seen in the Devil Realm1. Gongyi was one of the most common surnames in the Devil Realm, but it was also the family with the fewest numbers in the Devil Realm, most of the descendants were female Generals.


    ¡°Any living thing can be blocked by the barrier.¡± Shi Binghen said, ¡°Even if someone tries to forcefully break the barrier like this group of people in front of you, you will definitely be alarmed before the devil queen is aware. You must remember not to let them see Jiang Xianzun. No matter how many people from the Cultivation World come to seek help, you must do everything to stop them.¡±


    Gongyi Yan¡¯s dark blue eyes glanced at him: ¡°En.¡±


    Shi Binghen couldn¡¯t talk to these people who were of few words. After almost finishing to give the instructions, he put his sword back into its scabbard, retracted his blood-red wings, and transformed completely back into his human form.


    He was still a little worried, but he didn¡¯t know what he was actually worried about. He could only turn his head and glance towards Zhongnan Mountain, and saw the snow floating around at the peak.


    Later that night, the floating snow fell and covered his head. Shi Binghen shook the snowflakes off his shoulders. Before leaving, he suddenly stopped and said, ¡°Do you think¡­ Jiang Xianzun will forgive us?¡±


    Gongyi Yan looked at him coldly with her arms folded: ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Why not? The four great Immortal Sects that he protected didn¡¯t bring him any benefit. For so many years, if it hadn¡¯t been for Jiang Xianzun, the old Devil Lord would have already¡­¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t.¡±


    The great female devil whose mask was tied around her head with a silk ribbon retracted her long saber, and put it back into its scabbard, and then put it behind her back with one hand.


    She leaned against the pine tree and looked into the distance: ¡°Even if it is a rotten dish, he worked hard to make it. But we must flip the table over to take it.¡±


    She made Shi Binghen so angry that he was silent and spun in his place, before suddenly stopping and asking, ¡°How long do you¡­¡­ think he has?¡±


    Gongyi Yan¡¯s gaze stopped on his face.


    The two brave and skilled fighting devils looked at each other for a long time without speaking.


    The snowfall began to become slightly heavier and covered the icy scabbard. The woman grabbed at the newly fallen snow on the scabbard, and her voice was heard softly.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be longer than this battle across all the realms.¡±


    Doesn¡¯t that mean concealing it for a lifetime then?


    Shi Binghen took a breath in and said: ¡°We will end as soon as possible¡­¡­¡±


    If there is no blame, then there is no need to talk about forgiveness.


    Shi Binghen didn¡¯t know why she said that, but suddenly he was stuck in place.


    ¡°You are saving the Devil race, you are heroes.¡± Gongyi Yan twitched her lips coldly. ¡°Heroes always have a flaw, like a prison that is isolated internally and externally.¡±


    Shi Binghen no longer felt that she was someone who didn¡¯t talk much, her venomous tongue was like a knife, she could accurately pick every fragile bleeding spot and dig it out with one knife.


    ¡°Go.¡± Gongyi Yan stretched out her hand to pull off the eagle mask on her head, covering only half of her face, ¡°I am the villain, what are you afraid of.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Two days later, the little devil left Zhongnan Mountain. It seemed that he had something very important he had to attend to. He was very clingy before he left, and repeatedly confirmed with Jiang Zheliu whether he loved him or not.


    Jiang Xianzun spoke some sweet words that he had never uttered in his life before, and finally coaxed the great Devil Lord to leave.


    He looked at the landscape of snow outside the decoratively carved window.


    There would probably be no springtime in the mountains, as it had been snowing the entire time. Fortunately, when the landscape was white and clean, Jiang Zheliu loved looking at it.


    He held the hard warmer that was covered with a layer of white soft velvety fur, and sat on his beloved little chair to look at the snow. The wooden window was open, and some cold wind blew in quietly mixed in with fine snowflakes.


    The Ling Xiao Sword beside his knee stood beside him, hanging silently on the sword stand, as if it was a silent guardian.


    Jiang Zheliu watched for a long time, but didn¡¯t even see a bird. His eyes hurt from staring, so he slowly retracted his gaze and glanced from side to side.


    Sitting next to him was Xiao Yu¡¯s youth, everyday Xiao Yu would yell ¡°little mute¡±, making it difficult to remember his real name.


    Wang Moxuan was ordered to come over to play Go with Jiang Xianzun to relieve his boredom, however, Wang Moxuan himself was like a mere mortal due to the problems caused by removing the Fate Seal, and he also couldn¡¯t talk, whilst Jiang Xianzun was like a fragile glass that would break if touched. The two people very rarely interacted, exchanging only a few scattered words here and there.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for two little demons also being present, they would probably have suffocated to death.


    The injuries on his body had almost healed, only the love bite that Wenren Ye had left before leaving was yet to vanish. It was clearly branded on the neck, and his collar barely covered it, exposing one side of it slightly.


    Jiang Zheliu was stuck in the house all the time so he didn¡¯t notice any oddities on the mountain. He put the Ling Xiao Sword on his knees again, tracing the lines on the scabbard with his fingers.


    The sound of the curtain being lifted up was heard, and Yu Jinnian headed upstairs, preparing to lead his little mute back home, and then he heard Jiang Zheliu mutter indifferently.


    ¡°The Ling Xiao Sword is just sitting here¡­¡±


    Yu Jinnian secretly chuckled, his footstops paused, he felt he had evidently overstepped what was proper. He turned his head and looked at Jiang Zheliu, trying to speak as naturally as possible: ¡°Maybe those people have no face2 to see you, hey, why are you thinking about this anyway? Isn¡¯t this great, you didn¡¯t want to give it back anyway.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°Because of physical discomfort these past few days, I haven¡¯t used it for two days.¡±


    The two words ¡°physical discomfort¡± were tastefully selected. It included the days when the Heavenly Spirit Body was feverish, and the couple of days that he was unable to get out of bed because of the little devil.


    ¡°Keep on using it. I haven¡¯t found any other medicines that can replace the treasures of the Devil Realm, the Immortal Jade Cultivation Pill is the best. Although the Devil Realm is barren and crude, it seems to be able to easily produce all of the exotic delicacies and miracle cures and medicines, especially those that cannot be found in the Cultivation World, oddly.¡±


    After saying all that Yu Jinnian was reminded that the third Xuan Tonju Gate under the Devil Realm should be almost completely open. After thinking for a moment, he tried to smooth things over: ¡°It is not easy for the Devil Lord, the Devil Realm is a territory that has very sparse living space. He¡¯s so young, but must shoulder the weight of his species.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him pensively, then narrowed his gaze, and asked calmly: ¡°It turns out that you have a good-heart, and you are even worried about the safety of the Devil Realm. You are no longer the Divine Sage of Medicine who had prerequisites for saving people¡¯s lives.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s inevitable, this doctor has the heart of a parent.¡± Yu Jinnian casually murmured, not really wanting to expose more information in front of Jiang Qianbei, so he pulled up the little mute and went back downstairs and left.


    The bamboo curtain was lifted, bringing in the breeze mixed with snow.


    Jiang Zheliu watched the two of them leave, his fingers resting on the icy scabbard of the Ling Xiao Sword. His hands were very cold. This kind of cold made people with warm bodies feel very comfortable, but the ice sheath was also cold, and the chill was permeating outwards. When his fingers had been in contact with this layer of ice for too long, his transparent and pale finger became red from the frost.


    He curled up his fingers and smiled as if he was laughing at himself, his smile was faint and fleeting.


    In any case, this sword that once belonged to him, that he now wanted to play with had actually become more of an irreversible joke.


    He put the Ling Xiao Sword back and took out the Immortal Jade Cultivation Pill from the medicine box. At this time, the little deer Ah-Chu had run up to deliver the medicine. His face was filled with a happy smile of someone ¡°blissfully in-love¡±, he was seemingly very vivacious.


    Jiang Zheliu took the medicine bowl and grabbed Ah-Chu¡¯s hand.


    The little deer¡¯s entire body suddenly stiffened, feeling that the hand holding him was cold and icy, but the scent was soft and sweet, his soul was hooked. He swallowed hard, and with great self-control, HE let go of the hoe that wanted to dig at the bottom of the wall3 in his heart, and whispered: ¡°Gege.¡±


    ¡°Ah-Chu.¡± Jiang Zheliu looked at him and said, ¡°When you and Chang Qian go out to collect medicine, if you meet any other little demons, ask them if anything has happened in the past two days.¡±


    Ah-Chu was stunned for a while, staring at Jiang Zheliu with his eyes wide open, and almost getting lost in the other¡¯s dark and cold eyes, before he said after a while: ¡°¡­Hey, hey, beauty¡­ No wait, Okay no problem!¡±


    He had exposed his own obsessive nature with beauty and he shook his antlers with annoyance.


    Jiang Zheliu nodded and said, ¡°En, off you go.¡±


    He didn¡¯t think too much of it, at most he just felt that the little devil might have made the person from Ling Xiao Sect who wanted to retrieve the Ling Xiao Sword to leave empty handed, or, according to his temperament, he might have had murderous intent¡­¡­


    Jiang Zheliu slowly knocked on the medicine bottle of the Immortal Jade Cultivation Pill., calmed himself down whilst he went deep into thought. But he suffered a terrible headache and could only stop his thoughts and slowly calm himself down.


    Another night passed in a blink of an eye, and Ah-Chu and Chang Qian didn¡¯t manage to find anything out.


    When the little deer and the little snake talked, their facial expressions were a little weird. On their way, they didn¡¯t even encounter one little demon who had cultivated enough spiritual energy to be able to talk, as if all of the demon races had been threatened and disappeared without a trace.


    When Jiang Zheliu heard this, he scalded himself with the freshly made tea.


    There was a hot spring behind the small pinehouse, it had been cleaned and repaired by the great Devil Lord, and had been fashioned very much in the style of the Devil Realm. The Immortal Jade Cultivation Pill. melted into the spring water, and its scent gradually spread.


    Gongyi Yan sat up in the tree, pressing down her knee with one hand, and carrying a long saber behind her back, looking through the layers of pine needles towards the spring not too far away.


    ¡­¡­.The snow-white pill slowly dispersed in the water.


    She sniffed, and smelled a faint fragrance of the Heavenly Spirit Body in the air.


    So fragrant.


    This scent evaporated with the water vapour from the hot spring, making the dauntless and valiant but one track-minded great devil¡¯s heart feel ticklish. Gongyi Yan, who was still wearing a mask on her face, changed seating positions.


    She is a little bipolar.


    With the eyes of the great devil, she could clearly see the neatly folded robes placed by the Devil Queen, and the half-demon little snake who accompanied the Devil Queen who was sleeping there in a daze.


    There are two pieces of clothing, the outer part was light creamy white, and the inner part was lined with gold thread. It was of high-quality.


    As Gongyi Yan was present, none of the other devils approached. They are very familiar with their da-jie¡¯s fighting ability and strength, they knew that she was the cruelest General under the Devil Lord¡¯s command, and she beat people up harder than Shi Binghen.


    Her gaze stopped for a while on the golden thread lining, and then looked at the figure lying on the side of the spring. The thin layer of clothing was soaked in warm water, and the outline of his back was covered by the vapour, making it difficult to see clearly.


    His hair was snow-white, immersed in the water, slowly spreading and fluttering with the waves.


    Author Note:


    Gongyi Yan (cold, ruthless and with a venomous tongue): I am the villain, what are you afraid of?


    After seeing Jiang Xianzun.


    Gongyi Yan: Why would I want to be a villain, as long as the hoe digs, there is no corner that can¡¯t be dug7!


    Well, the comment area can start preparing the washboard8.

 CH 43

    Jiang Zheliu had already guessed many things.


    But he was actually worried, which was in line with what the little devil had also predicted. When would he be able to change his bad habit of worrying about everything, and be able to completely get rid of the mortal net that he was caught in.


    He thought that the road to immortality was long; those who were covered in the blood debt1 of others would find it hard to fuse with the Dao2.


    As soon as Jiang Zheliu thought about this, he would get a crippling headache. He could not waste his efforts worrying about worldly affairs, as soon as he did, his headache would become more and more serious, as if it was a warning coming from his soul.


    But his thoughts were also not something that he could actually control.


    After a few days passed, the burns on his fingertips had already recovered. All of the birds in the sky had completely vanished, they had not even heard a single bird call. Ling Xiao Sword stood in its previous spot quiet and alone, the decorative design upon the sword was like an eternal eye, watching over him silently.


    A windy and snowy evening, Jiang Zheliu was in the middle of a game of Go with Wang Moxuan. The little mute couldn¡¯t say a word so he was the perfect listener.


    ¡°This move was made too quickly, you should think about it more.¡±


    The candle flame lightly flickered, Jiang Zheliu¡¯s voice was clear and calm.


    Wang Moxuan raised his gaze and looked at him silently. At that moment, it was still unclear whether Jiang Qianbei was really commenting on the game play or whether he was actually speaking about something else.


    ¡°Do you want to take another look?¡± The other asked him quietly.


    Wang Moxuan took another look at the Go board for a while and then shook his head, meaning that he did not want to change any of the moves he had made.


    He knew that he couldn¡¯t win against Jiang Zheliu, and had discovered that he had already made quite a few mistakes in his game so he did not want to change anything.


    The shadows made by the candle light were getting longer, whilst the odour of the slightly bitter medicine began to waft up from downstairs, the sound of the evening wind started to bang against the window, the floating snowflakes began to cover over the plum blossoms as Yu Jinnian came over as usual to take Wang Moxuan home.


    He knocked on the bamboo curtain screen and then leant against the door, and continued to babble on: ¡°Qianbei, it¡¯s time to return the little mute to me! He¡¯s been here for a whole day, pffff, you two are going to bore me to death¡­..¡±


    Wang Moxuan stopped playing, he got up and then gestured to Jiang Zheliu with his hands that he was taking his leave. Then he went downstairs and dragged that jibber jabber mouth of the Divine Sage of Medicine away from the little pinehouse.


    Every evening was like this, just like the endgame on the Go board.


    Everything was like it was before, it was perhaps even a little too calm. The wind outside had mixed in with some snowflakes, and had already covered the wooden window frame. The little deer was sleeping against the table downstairs, whilst Chang Qian was re-heating the medicine. Trying to keep his eyes open, he accompanied the medicine whilst it cooled, but helplessly let out a yawn.


    Time passed by with ease and comfort, if one could live out the rest of their days like this, it could be considered a peaceful death.


    Jiang Zheliu was sitting beneath the flame of the candle, and had taken out the ancient text scroll that he had only read half of previously from the bookcase. With the book on his lap, he began to flick through where he had left off, but he had not even found his place when his hand suddenly froze.


    From within the ancient text, there was a long and slender fortune stick that fell out.


    It must have been that he had got so tired reading last time, he¡¯d put the fortune stick inside to mark his place, and then had completely forgotten about it.


    Jiang Zheliu reached out to pick up the fortune stick. His gaze fixed upon the prophecy written upon it and he whispered: ¡°¡­¡­ life¡¯s dream ¡­¡­ double oath.¡±


    He and the little devil had no former oath between them to think of.


    Jiang Zheliu looked at it for a while, and then reached out to massage the spot between his brows. He had not closed his eyes for very long, when he heard the noise of the wooden window in front of him opening from the outside.


    ¡­¡­ Huh?


    He opened his eyes and saw a woman wearing a mask suddenly appearing in front of the upstairs window. She used her extended bony spur from her claw to open the latch of the window.


    Gongyi Yan did not reply, but instead moved her fingers that were holding the resurrection stone, pulled over his hand to make him feel the slight crack in the stone.


    The power of the stone was not infinite. Just like the lamp that needs oil, and the raging flames that need firewood, but there will be one day that it will stop burning.


    Jiang Zheliu stared blankly for a moment.


    He had no spiritual energy, even if his half-step golden immortal cultivation realm was still present, he was not as sharp as he was previously. Such a tiny crack, if he had not been shown it, he probably wouldn¡¯t have discovered it for a long time on his own.


    The treasure that could make flowers blossom in a ten li radius was also exhaustible. It was replenishing his life using its utmost power, replenishing it day and night.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Jiang Zheliu took the necklace and put it back on. The cold winter wind that was coming from the outside was making his throat tickle, he wanted to cough but because Gongyi Yan was still there, he tried to resist it, and he said: ¡°It¡¯s me that is hurting him, I will think of a way¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°What way?¡±


    Gongyi Yan coldly stared at him.


    The medicine had been left to cool downstairs for too long, after a while, Chang Qian who had accidentally fallen asleep finally went up to deliver the bowl of medicine whilst rubbing his eyes. He sniffed the air, and noticed that there was a scent of another person.


    ¡°Gege?¡± He gave the bowl to Jiang Zheliu then narrowed his eyes, ¡°did someone come?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The one who came wasn¡¯t a person, ¡°did you fall asleep?¡±


    He controlled Zhu Wuxin¡¯s body to drink a sip of tea, and then sighed with disdain a few times before saying: ¡°Has the poison in your body corroded your brain?¡±


    He was able to see that Wang Wenyuan was still suffering from the effects of the poison of the Cylindrical Heart Powder, and the latter was having some trouble breathing properly.


    ¡°Ghost Lord He.¡± Wang Wenyuan stared at him and said, ¡°Even without self-interest, or grudges, no matter what is done, it can¡¯t be considered extreme.¡±


    He stood up, went across the secret room to light a couple of candles, and then went in front of one of the walls, his gaze fell upon the black cloth that had been concealed by a smokescreen technique.


    Behind the black curtain was another room. It was a room with only three walls, the wall facing this side was made by black metal.


    Inside there was a Buddhist monk sitting who was wearing white robes.


    The white buddhist robes were soaked in blood, his shoulders had been impaled in place with metal hooks obstructing any movement. But his robes were still intact, as if he had not received any other torment. He had his eyes closed and didn¡¯t speak a word.


    Wang Wenyuan turned around to face He Sorshi, as if he was considering something whilst he spoke: ¡°And if I gave a Buddhist cultivator¡¯s body to Ghost Lord He to use as a reward how would that sound?¡±


    He Sorshi shifted his gaze and stared at him whilst laughing: ¡°Lan Re Temple¡¯s successor, you¡¯ve seriously got some guts.¡±


    ¡°As is Ghost Lord He.¡± Wang Wenyuan said, ¡°Even if the Zen Master is fed medicine, he still does not react to the demonic female cultivators, so it¡¯s impossible to use a female cultivator to make him talk, so why not give him to the Ghost Lord.¡±


    He paused here for a moment.


    ¡°This way, whether or not the Zen Master gets aroused, he can still be useful to the Ghost Lord.¡±


    The Ghost Lord could possess his body, using simply ¡°useful¡± as a word had multiple meanings.


    ¡°If a ghost cultivator¡¯s primordial spirit is instilled into the body of a buddhist cultivator.¡± He Sorshi laughed involuntarily, ¡°Lan Re Temple will definitely come for my life.¡±


    He got up, and used Zhu Wuxin¡¯s handsome and youthful face to lean in closer, he raised his hand and a gust of ice-cold ghostly energy entered through the metal bars, lifting up the fabric of the conical bamboo hat covering Ming Jing Zen Master¡¯s face.


    In between his eyebrows, he had a bright red mark of Bodhi.


    He Sorshi looked at him for a while and then slowly his mouth turned into a sneer, he said cheerfully: ¡°Don¡¯t say anymore, I kind of want to see that bunch of bald donkeys5, it¡¯s just a shame that I¡¯ve lived for too long, they probably don¡¯t recognise me.¡±


    It was as if he was speaking about something quite regrettable, the ghostly energy from his fingers began to corrode the metal bars, he reached in and then melted away the iron hook that was impaled in Ming Jing¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Little Buddhist Monk.¡± He laughed, ¡°The Netherworld has a Buddhist Cultivator who says he wants to eliminate all evil spirits in Heaven and on Earth, who is this person to you?¡±


    Translator Note:


    Sowwee for the slow update, actually this chapter was long but I pushed through this time!


    I¡¯ve been busy at work and I¡¯m changing jobs ¨C starting a new one on Monday. Don¡¯t really know how busy this new job will be but I think whilst I get started, releases will probably be limited to the weekends for a while.


    Also hahaha about He Sorshi ¨C I was laughing a lot about this. So yeh ¨C the character ºÎ h¨¦ in Chinese is pronounced more like ¡®Her¡¯ and not ¡®He¡¯. The last character in his name ËÆ can be pronounced sh¨¬ or s¨¬ dependent on the meaning and yeh other stuff. I chose shi but actually si is correct but I¡¯m too lazy to change it all or I might do it later I¡¯ll re-edit later. But it made me laugh thinking that people might read He Sorsi as ¡°he saucyyyyy¡± hahaha which was my initial deciding factor. Ok maybe only I find that funny. Terrible TL humour.

 CH 44

    The Zen Master did not respond.


    Since he had been captured by Wang Wenyuan, he had almost not said a word, only offering up a rare sentence or two.


    It was the same now. Ming Jing remained utterly silent, not uttering a single word.


    He Sorshi didn¡¯t care, his ghostly energy lingered over the bars continuing to corrode all of the metal in the cage, completely dissolving the two metal hooks impaled in the little buddhist monk¡¯s body, and then he picked him up in his arms to leave.


    Before he had picked him up, He Sorshi just thought that the other did not move because his shoulders had been locked into place, but now he had picked him up, he discovered that the little monk did not struggle at all, not because he didn¡¯t want to but because he had no force whatsoever in his body.


    Ming Jing¡¯s buddhist cultivation body had been completely sealed, he was weak and soft, powerless to fight back like a string puppet.


    Tianji Pavilion had a lot of peculiar curses and spells, including methods to temporarily seal one¡¯s cultivation¡­.. And these had all once been used on Wang Moxuan.


    The two brothers shared a father but different mothers. The younger brother had grown up in the secular world and had no malicious heart, he was as pure and innocent as a newborn. Wang Wenyuan who had been raised in Tianji Pavilion, however, was capricious and paranoid as well as selfish.


    For the relationship between them to turn so hostile was not unexpected at all.


    He Sorshi reached out with his hand and lightly pressed Ming Jing¡¯s neck to check that there were not any other curses or poisons on his body and then he retracted his hand.


    He didn¡¯t want to be used or manipulated by this junior of the Tianji Pavilion who knew how to divinate. He only agreed to work with him, so that they could each reap their own benefits and that was the end of it.


    This buddhist cultivator who did not speak or even move was in his arms, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he was still breathing and had a heartbeat, he would not have resembled a living person at all. He Sorshi let Ming Jing lean on his shoulder as he didn¡¯t feel that the latter could do anything threatening to him.


    In reality, those who could actually threaten He Sorshi were few and far between. If he really thought about it, there was only Jiang Zheliu back then and now with the addition of Wenren Ye, these were the only two people.


    ¡°Ghost Leader He.¡±


    His footsteps paused as he heard Wang Wenyuan¡¯s voice behind him.


    ¡°Aside from taking the recording sound cicada, there is also something else I¡¯d like the Ghost Leader to pass on to him.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Wenren Ye had left for more than two months.


    When Gongyi Yan delivered the letter, the two realms were indeed in a deadlock. Wenren Ye had the Pearl of Destruction and the ink knife in his hands, the situation was incredibly dangerous. But Qing Lin was not going to give up a thousand li of land to anyone. As they were unable to come to an agreement, this letter was able to break the impasse and also clarify Jiang Zheliu¡¯s position.


    The two realms established a pact, and changed their plans, and understood what the other wanted. At the same time, even though Wenren Ye sent Gongyi Yan back to guard over the little willow tree, he was overflowing with guilt.


    Jiang Zheliu had discovered what was happening so quickly and his response was actually very gentle. Wenren Ye felt a great ominous feeling in his heart lately, he was afraid that Jiang Zheliu¡¯s illness would become worse because of this matter and take a toil on his mind as well.


    His worries were not unfounded.


    It was true that Jiang Zheliu had been getting headaches from overthinking. He tried to avoid thinking too deeply about things, to not care about the war, to not think about worldly matters, and to not think about the matters after his death. But this kind of pounding headache was recurring like a chronic disease, and had already taken root in his body, and was not something that he could just bear in the meantime.


    Yu Jinnian had come over to consult two times. He was still not aware that Jiang Zheliu had pretty much sussed out the entire situation. When he talked with Jiang Zheliu he was still continuing on with the farce with his sub-par acting skills.


    What Jiang Zheliu had suspected this whole time had become a reality.


    Wuxin was raised by him, he had his faults but he didn¡¯t deserve to die, but¡­¡­


    He Sorshi changed his actions, reaching out to fiddle with the teacup lid, and said lazily: ¡°Jiang Xianzun, don¡¯t you have anything to say to that?¡±


    What could he say.


    He had raised Zhu Wuxin himself, he had led Ling Xiao Sect personally but a lone tree cannot uphold everything alone2. Under a period of lengthy peaceful accord, the four great immortal sects had also started to deviate from its path. Now, the immortal sect that he had brought to the forefront had been completely destroyed by his own hand.


    Jiang Zheliu raised his hand and put the half read book on the table.


    His fingers were trembling ever so slightly but he did not want He Sorshi to see him tremble, so he tried to restrain it. He slowly retracted his hands into his sleeves, no longer exposing even an inch.


    ¡°The timber has already become a boat3, there¡¯s nothing else to be said.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s voice was indifferent like usual.


    He Sorshi looked at him with much attention and after a long while he said: ¡°If that a*hole hadn¡¯t said that your life is coming to its end, I probably wouldn¡¯t let you off¡­¡­ Little Willow. In your next life, be careful, there are some burdens that you can¡¯t just casually accept.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your guidance.¡± Jiang Zheliu smiled, ¡°It¡¯s a shame, I won¡¯t have an afterlife.¡±


    When ordinary people die, they are transported to the River of the Dead. When cultivators die, their souls return to Heaven and Earth, scattering completely, and will not reincarnate. Only those cultivators who have extremely high cultivation and have successfully passed their Heavenly Tribulations were able to reincarnate and not pass through the River of the Dead to wash away the remnants of their previous lives, and hold on to their memories.


    Jiang Zheliu had no afterlife, he only had his cultivation realms but he didn¡¯t have any cultivation energy.


    The Northern winds rose and the snow bashed against the window making a noise. On the candlestick nearby, the melting wax gradually dripped down the candle, coagulating at the bottom like blood.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you dreamt about him?¡± He Sorshi said, ¡°You don¡¯t want to tell me about it?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand shook violently, he tightened his fists, his nails stabbing into the palm of his own hand, but his facial expression was still cold and apathetic. His white hair and pitch black eyes were even colder than an icicle, his entire body was emitting a pure cold energy. ¡°Since we¡¯ve already parted, why torment me in my dreams.¡±


    He Sorshi smiled slowly: ¡°Why would it be torment, he intended to hurt you, indirectly placing you into a deathtrap, and then you killed him, isn¡¯t that an equal grudge on both sides?¡±


    He Sorshi stared at him: ¡°You are indeed at your end.¡±


    Just with these two pieces of information was already enough to cause such a negative reaction and completely destroy his body and negate all the effects of his lengthy recovery into nothing.


    Jiang Zheliu swallowed the blood, he didn¡¯t want to appear too pitiful, his hands were moist with cold sweat, he was trying to prop himself up on the arm of his chair but could not exhibit any force and was simply leaning on it.


    He knew what He Sorshi¡¯s goal was, the other wanted to leave the River of the Dead. There were only a few people in this world who were able to break his netherworld chains, he was doing all this to make Wenren Ye lose his mind.


    As for why he was not killing him now, he probably didn¡¯t want to be murdered after being freed violently from his chains by a madman¡­¡­ Or He Sorshi had something else that he was hiding¡­..


    Jiang Zheliu was impressed that he was even able to think at a moment like this, he very clearly felt pain as well as an unending stream of energy from the resurrection stone trying to replenish his vitality, but he was somehow able to pull out a train of thought through the pain to gradually put together the puzzle pieces.


    His wrist was very slender, the ink bracelet fell off from his wrist and then stayed around his hand.


    ¡°Jiang Xianzun.¡± He Sorshi changed back to a more formal address, ¡°The thing that you brought up, I don¡¯t really want to tell Wang Wenyuan.¡±


    He really enjoyed playing along with madmen, such as when he nurtured Zhu Wuxin. He liked those people who were particularly obsessed and biased and he liked to make them crumble and make them break.


    Author Note:


    Scold the characters and not me, there are some unavoidable plotlines, there is a lot of foreshadowing that cannot be avoided. (Puts on pot lid5.)


    Anyway it¡¯s a HE, and anyway he has to die. Get used to it! ¡û Is that something the author should be saying (x)


    Translator Note:


    Booooo don¡¯t scold me either, I¡¯m just a poor little translator hehe.


    We are at the half-way mark of this novel ¨C are you still with me? ^^

 CH 45

    The Netherworld.


    The River of the Dead shook and evil spirits dispersed. The entire place was murky, without even a ray of light.


    A blood-coloured stream spread across the river, dispersing in all directions before vanishing completely.


    He Sorshi retracted his hand, and the bloody ghostly energy that he had released re-entered back through his fingertips. He was not using Zhu Wuxin¡¯s body but his own.


    His slightly wavy hair moved around like the waves of the river water, even the giant netherworld chains that bound his hands and feet also shook slightly.


    ¡°That Buddhist cultivator wished for the position of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, but because of his ambition to become an eternal Buddha, he was just as stupid as the path he chose.¡± The ghostly energy lingered around He Sorshi¡¯s fingertips, wiping off the dried blood off the other¡¯s shoulder, staring at the wound on his body, ¡°Unfortunately¡ª¡ª he died too early. After spending thousands of years with me in the Netherworld, he still fell into the Kappangi1.¡±


    In some respects, He Sorshi really was a survivor and worthy of the name ¡°Old and Undying¡±, but because of his status, calling him ¡°Dead Ghost¡± shouldn¡¯t be a problem either, but it just sounded a little inappropriate.


    ¡°To purify all the evil spirits in this world, this ambition is truly naive.¡± He Sorshi said, ¡°You¡¯re not cultivating this path right?¡±


    Ming Jing had his head down and didn¡¯t reply for a long time until He Sorshi calmed down, he finally slowly spoke: ¡°Ghost Leader He.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ How is Jiang Qianbei?¡±


    He Sorshi frowned, he couldn¡¯t believe that this buddhist cultivator was in the jaws of death but was still worrying over Jiang Zheliu. The corners of his mouth twitched and said: ¡°You¡¯re on the brink of death yourself, do you want to see him off?


    He spoke as he raised his hand to pull up the Zenmaster¡¯s fair chin, he leaned in closely and stared for a while and said: ¡°Why don¡¯t you worry about yourself first?¡±


    Ming Jing looked back at him calmly, the dark red Bodhi mark between his eyebrows was as bright as blood, but his eyes were eternally as light as mist, as if facing He Sorshi, Wang Wenyuan, or facing anyone was absolutely no different to him.


    He Sorshi moved ever so slightly, the emotion in his eyes gradually changed. He lowered his head and said: ¡°I¡¯ll ask you again, are you his reincarnation?¡±


    All those that had reincarnated and re-cultivated in their next lives had to meet someone that they knew in their past life and be reminded of their identity in order to retrieve the memories of their past lives. If Ming Jing was that person¡¯s reincarnation then when He Sorshi mentioned him previously, Ming Jing should already have been reminded of his previous life.


    But he was not. His eyes didn¡¯t not flicker at all, there was not even a wisp of acknowledgement in his eyes. It was absolutely calm like the surface of a lake.


    He Sorshi was a little annoyed.


    After a while, he slowly let go.


    The man who insisted on transforming him died long ago.


    He Sorshi let out a deep breath and said: ¡°That person was my friend. If you return to Lan Re Temple and ask around you should still be able to find out his name¡­¡­ Nevermind, you can just stay here to keep me company, wait until I get rid of these chains, I¡¯ll take you back personally.¡±


    Ming Jing still looked back at him without saying a word like usual, he did not reveal any emotion whatsoever, only a tiny wisp of worry.


    ¡°If I can¡¯t leave here.¡± He Sorshi looked up towards the direction of the river, he closed his eyes and smiled, ¡°Then you will also stay in the Netherworld.¡±


    The river water flowed slowly, countless evil spirits lived in seclusion at the bottom of the river, using their dark green eyes to stare at the beautiful new fresh blood next to their Ghost Leader. But the fresh meat that they were staring at simply stood in the same spot, and only glanced over towards the limit of the river.


    The river of the dead was vast, it was hard to find its limit, as if there was no end.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The Devil Realm and the Demon Realm had been going against each other for a long time with unending disharmony, becoming a deadlock. After that, it really did actually attract some stealth attacks. The sneak attackers were lured into the trap outside Shiwan Dashan2, their Daoist body was killed, their primordial spirit was crushed. After getting rid of the first batch of stupid greedy people, the Cultivation world and the two realms were able to negotiate peace, whilst the devils attacked the land, almost heading into the Mountain Protection Formation of the four immortal sects.


    Yu Jinnian sat next to him, watching the terminally ill patient in front of him who calmly put down the letter and brush and then hid it on an inconspicuous corner of the table. The doctor said bitterly: ¡°How am I going to explain to Wenren Ye? You¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Xiao Yu,¡± Jiang Zheliu said calmly, ¡°I didn¡¯t hold you accountable for helping the little devil conceal things from me.¡±


    Yu Jinnian choked up all of a sudden, and couldn¡¯t think of a response for a long time and then he said quietly: ¡°Wasn¡¯t it for the sake of Qianbei¡­¡±


    ¡°Then I am also doing it for his sake.¡±


    Although Yu Jinnian could tell from checking his pulse that his condition was not right. However, because of the additional medicine, he didn¡¯t know the full extent of the other¡¯s condition, he was without a clue. ¡°The more you are like this, the more I think that you¡¯ve gone mad¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Whether I get a bit better or a bit worse, I¡¯m still someone you cannot cure.¡±


    Although this was true, Yu Jinnian¡¯s self-confidence and self-recognition for his medical skills had been hit hard.


    He sighed and scanned the other person up and down, confirming that from the outside, he couldn¡¯t see what condition this person was in.


    He thought for a moment, and then reminded him of an old matter: ¡°That time you mentioned holding the sword again, I thought about it, and the only way is really¡­ to wait for after you die and make you a puppet.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu paused, and looked up: ¡°Do you know what I need to do?¡±


    Yu Jinnian said helplessly: ¡°The art of puppetry uses the corpse and because the corpse¡¯s life force has already been severed, it allows for the corpse to regain power again which is naturally the only way for you to hold the sword again. Maybe after the puppet master¡¯s repairs, your meridians may even flow even more smoothly than before.¡±


    Before he could finish his words, he suddenly heard the sound of a medicine bowl falling beyond the screen. He turned his head and saw only a pair of fluffy antlers running away.


    ¡°Ah-Chu overheard, is that alright?¡± Yu Jinnian asked.


    Jiang Zheliu glanced over, ¡°It¡¯s okay. When he comes back, I will talk to him.¡±


    Yu Jinnian nodded, ignoring the little interruption, and continued: ¡°It¡¯s just that you want to use this method to preserve your power but what is it for?¡±


    ¡°Jiang Xianzun¡¯s guidance to others has always been used as a reference. You have always made your own decisions.¡± Yu Jinnian stood up, ¡°Perhaps you should still think about how to comfort Wenren Ye.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu silently pondered for a moment, and said, ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry to trouble you, thank you for everything.¡±


    Yu Jinnian waved his hand, turned and left.


    He didn¡¯t expect that this was the last time the two of them would speak.


    Jiang Zheliu was a person who could accept reality very quickly. He had even found many spots in Zhongnan Mountain. He felt that being buried under the ice and snow of Zhongnan Mountain was indeed a good place to rest, but he was afraid that the little devil would dig him out, so he gave up on this idea.


    Few people who knew that their end was near would be as calm as him.


    Ah-Chu came back in the evening. He looked sad and his eyes were red, as if he had learned a great secret, but he didn¡¯t say anything. He handed Jiang Zheliu a cloak without saying a word, but he didn¡¯t let go, but instead leaned in and hugged him.


    ¡°Gege¡­¡± His voice was still whimpering in an indiscernible tone.


    Jiang Zheliu reached out and touched the horns of his head, rubbing the fluffy antlers for a moment, he whispered, ¡°Why are you crying?¡±


    ¡°The book says that you will be fine!¡± Ah-Chu gritted his teeth and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a protagonist die in the middle of their love story. How can you do this!¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was silent for a moment, pondering whilst asking, ¡°Which book?¡±


    Ah-Chu choked all of a sudden, wiped his tears, lowered his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s a book¡­a book I¡¯ve read.¡±


    He paused, and continued: ¡°Besides, it¡¯s impossible for Chinese medicine to replace Western medicine! Why are you talking about anatomy and repair? It sounds very scientific!¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t understand the meaning of science, but he could understand that Ah-Chu was reluctant for him to die. He reached out his hand and wiped away his tears, and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t tell Wenren gege about this matter, okay?¡±


    Ah-Chu stared at him in a daze, but didn¡¯t notice that he had actually agreed to it.


    The Heavenly Spirit Body was still very fragrant, exuding a fragrance that made others draw closer. Ah-Chu would have agreed to anything he said at this moment.


    But Ah-Chu was still very sad. He leaned against the screen and continued to cry. After dark, he was tired from crying and accidentally fell asleep.


    He slept much deeper than Jiang Zheliu.


    Jiang Zheliu was also sleepy, but he was more energetic than usual due to the effects of the extra medicine. He just coughed occasionally. When his hand fell on the resurrection stone, he could clearly feel the crack, and the crack was getting larger at a quickened pace, so the vitality that maintained his body gradually became weaker.


    He thought of a lot of things, and was a little distracted.


    The little devil hugged him tightly and put his head around his shoulders, there was a strong sense of depression coming from him. The edges of his lips were so dry that they were about to crack and bleed, and Jiang Zheliu almost fainted from the taste of the blood between his lips during the kiss just now.


    He slowly raised his hand and followed along the length of his spine as if stroking a large fluffy cat. He whispered and asked in a gentle tone: ¡°Do you feel a bit better?¡±


    Wenren Ye didn¡¯t speak, but chased his breath, leaning closer into his arms, feeling appeased by the cold ice and snow energy on his sweetheart and then he muttered: ¡°En.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu did not ask about the smell of fresh blood, but slowly rubbed the other¡¯s horns, his fingers slid down along the devilish horns, he wrapped his arms around his shoulders and moved away from the topic.


    ¡°Why did you come back suddenly?¡±


    Although he asked this, he was actually very happy that he came back. Jiang Zheliu also really wanted to see him, he actually missed him very much.


    Wenren Ye wanted to use an excuse, but thought that the old Pavilion Lord of Wushuang Jian Pavilion had a good relationship with Jiang Zheliu, so he didn¡¯t speak for a while. His voice was hoarse: ¡°Taking a break.¡±


    He didn¡¯t want to make Jiang Zheliu sad.


    Instead of making him sad, Wenren Ye¡¯s first reaction was still to hide it for the time being. This is exactly the same reaction on both sides.


    He was unwilling to let go. Even if Jiang Zheliu stayed here the whole time waiting for him, he still had that kind of feeling that the other could efferverse into nothing in an instant. He tightly surrounded Jiang Zheliu¡¯s waist and whispered: ¡°¡­It¡¯s my fault for not telling you about the war. Don¡¯t be sad¡­. I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you afraid that they will come up the mountain to find me?¡± Jiang Zheliu said.


    Wenren Ye stared at him blankly and nodded.


    This devil didn¡¯t come through the door or the window when he came back. He used the technique of teleportation between the two realms, and he came so accurately and silently that even the little deer outside the door was not alarmed.


    ¡°I know.¡± Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t pursue it. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    Author Note:


    Jiang Zheliu has only broken his promise to two people, one is the master who accompanied him on his journey, and the other is the love he met at the end.


    From beginning to end, he had nothing.


    Don¡¯t rush me! It will make me not want to update. (Crying whilst smearing honey on the knife to tempt readers) Come and lick it! ! !

 CH 46

    Before the break of dawn, the little devil had already left.


    He just quietly stayed by his side and held him whilst he slept the entire night. It was as if he was able to alleviate some of his exhaustion by being with Jiang Zheliu, and to become once more the invincible and unbeatable great Devil Lord.


    When he left, plum blossoms that had floated in from the crevices of the window fell upon the table. When Wenren Ye turned around, he suddenly felt a throbbing pain from the pit of his stomach, he turned again to look at Jiang Zheliu who was still sleeping on the bed, he couldn¡¯t understand where this indescribable pain had originated.


    It was clear¡­¡­. Clear that the little Willow tree was not angry with him.


    Wenren Ye stared for a while, exercised some restraint and then rushed out to rejoin the Devil Realm¡¯s troops.


    As the beaded curtain was lifted and dropped, the beads crashed together making a sound which accompanied the sound of spoiled plum blossoms falling in the snowy night.


    The little pine house was silent, Chang Qian was sleeping downstairs. Ah-Chu was still asleep leaning against the wooden screen, and had not woken up yet as if he was exhausted from crying.


    Jiang Zheliu had taken his medicine early, brushed his hair and got dressed. He added a velvet fur cloak over his shoulders, and did everything he needed to protect himself, then he picked up Ling Xiao Sword, and went downstairs without making a sound and opened the front door.


    The front door quietly opened and closed, he instantly felt the disparity in the difference of temperature between the inside and the outside. The falling snowflakes landed on his head and shoulders, sticking to his snow-white hair.


    Before Jiang Zheliu walked up to the spiritual burial mound, he put Ling Xiao Sword down on the side and reached out to touch the tombstone of his honorable teacher1.


    His hands were so cold they had turned red, his fingertips had turned a deep red, however, his nails were still a colourless white. The back of his hand was so white that it was possible to see the veins under the skin. His bones were long and slender like somewhat broken and ready to crumble deadwood.


    But even if it was like this, when this hand reached out to wipe away the snow on the tombstone, it still exhibited a sickly elegance.


    The frost and snow fell with the wiping action of his hand, revealing the original lettering and engraving. Jiang Zheliu stared for a moment and then knelt before the grave.


    He had anticipated a hundred times, even a thousand times that if one day he would die, he would be by his teacher¡¯s side, and he would tell him that he had repaid him for the kindness of this life. But now, it had come to this point.


    The engraving revealed Zhu Wenyuan¡¯s name and title.


    The Lingxiao sword on the side whispered softly, the sword¡¯s intent was connected with him.


    ¡°Shifu.¡± Jiang Zheliu lifted up his hand, he sighed gently whilst facing the icy tombstone, and rubbed his fingertips, ¡°I have to leave.¡±


    He was an orphan who had been brought back to the Ling Xiao Sect by Zhu Wenyuan. He had neither father nor mother, Ling Xiao Sect was his home. But now, whether it was his teacher, or his shidi who he had considered the person closest to him, that thousand-year-old home was no longer there.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    With Gongyi Yan¡¯s assistance, he was able to leave Zhongnan Mountain that day.


    The horses and carriage were all ready, more than a dozen smokescreens had been applied. The devil warhorse was once again shamelessly burying itself in the arms of the Devil Queen, with little stars all over his eyes.


    There were only the two of them, the other devils had received a proper reason from Gongyi Yan and did not give chase. And this matter had not alarmed Yu Jinnian, everything had happened too quickly.


    When Chang Qian woke up, he saw that the upstairs window was already open for an unknown length of time, everything else had been unmoved.


    The cold wind in the brief illumination of the night, the hanging curtains trembled with snow and frost.


    He looked around the empty room, and had still not understood what had happened until he saw Ah-Chu packing up his belongings, he finally asked with astonishment: ¡°What¡­¡­. What¡¯s going on here¡­¡­¡±


    Ah-Chu wiped the tears from his eyes and sighed before saying: ¡°The fate of the protagonist is unknown, there will usually be more plots and turns. But I¡¯m afraid that when your little uncle comes back and can¡¯t see him, we won¡¯t be able to see the sun rise again.¡±


    Chang Qian stared blankly for a moment, then straightened his face: ¡°What you mean is¡­.. Shenxian gege has snuck away?¡±


    Ah-Chu picked up his little bag and put it on his back: ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever read ¡¶The Devil Lord¡¯s sweet wife who runs away¡·? How can you be so uncultured? This won¡¯t do, I must leave, in case Devil Lord Wenren gets wind of this and it messes with his head, we¡¯ll be done for.¡±


    Author Note:


    Ah-Chu: I¡¯mOverIt.jpg


    Chang Qian and Ah-Chu will become really strong, they cannot grow up whilst at Liuliu¡¯s side the whole time, they need to grow up and get stronger in order to protect the person they love.


    The little mute is a real genius.


    Add more to survive (*Facepalm*).

 CH 47

    The Netherworld.


    The road in order to bypass the River of the Dead was even further, shuttling past the eyes of thousands of greedy but fearful ghost cultivators, the carriage slowly advanced and arrived at Wang Xiang Tai.


    Gongyi Yan jumped off the carriage, she pushed aside the curtain and stuck her hand into the carriage, and helped the most treasured and beloved darling of the Devil Realm to descend the carriage and help him to keep standing upright beside her.


    Jiang Zheliu was not doing too well, he felt that his body was on the verge of giving up. Layer upon layers of cracks on the resurrection stone had already become obvious on its surface, the cracks were a ghastly sight.


    Gongyi Yan had resolved a lot of ¡°surprises¡± along the way, such as the evil demons which had been enticed by the Heavenly Spirit Body¡¯s scent, or the spirits that had been blocking the road, everything had perished under her blade. Sometimes, for the sake of not waking up Jiang Zheliu, she had even done it without making a sound.


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    On the way here, Jiang Zheliu had also been able to witness the situation and the aftermath of the ensuing war¡­.. Zero casualties was impossible, but the little devil had exercised great restraint, the scope and the level of destruction was in the limits of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s estimates, and perhaps the reality was even a little better than what he had expected.


    If there truly could be one person to unify the realms, to check and balance power and in-fighting and to end the ceaseless enmity, in reality, he was an extremely suitable candidate.


    Jiang Zheliu began to get a headache again thinking about this kind of stuff, hence, he could only suppress his own thoughts, and rather, he stretched out his hand to fix his cloak and collar before knocking on the front door of Wang Xiang Tai.


    Although this place was called ¡°Wang Xiang Tai¡±, in reality it was a very complicated and old compound. Behind the buildings were an enormous spiritual device that resembled a nine-storied pagoda. After climbing up to the highest point of the tower onto the stone terrace, this was the actual Wang Xiang Tai that looked over the Netherworld.


    He knocked on the door, there seemed to be a bell attached to the inside of the door, which rang a few times. Following that a pale-faced young ghost cultivator opened the door and glanced at the two of them, and seemed to be ensnared by the beauty of the person in front of him, he said, ¡°You ¡­Are you a living person?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t be blamed for asking. As soon as Jiang Zheliu stepped foot into the gates of hell, the vitality in his body also weakened.


    Jiang Zheliu nodded, he replied calmly: ¡°I am Jiang Zheliu, I¡¯m looking for the Lay Buddhist of Wang Xiang Tai.¡±


    The young ghost cultivator stared blankly for a moment, it was unknown whether it was because of the sound of the other¡¯s voice or whether it was upon hearing his name. He opened the door to the courtyard and quickly said: ¡°Please follow me.¡±


    Gongyi Yan stayed beside her Devil Queen, following him into this tomb-like compound, following the white-faced ghost cultivator as he twisted and turned as he went, until finally stopping in front of a house.


    After the youth announced their arrival, the doors of the house abruptly opened, exposing the neatly lined up spoiled limbs and corpses, as well as spiritual devices which were full of wandering spirits, letting out ear-piercing screams.


    Jiang Zheliu took a step forward, and saw that under the shelf of the corpses¡¯ limbs, there was a boy who looked only around seven or eight years old, half of his body was covered in blood. He raised his head while shaking the bottle in his hand, and his silver-grey eyes paused on Jiang Zheliu for a moment.


    A living person.


    He Tan confirmed whether this person in front of him was alive or dead, his gaze fell upon Jiang Zheliu¡¯s neck a few times, and then he stood up, his gaze moving up to Jiang Zheliu¡¯s face, and he finally said: ¡°¡­¡­. Jiang Xianzun?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu said: ¡°That¡¯s me.¡±


    When He Tan stood up, he only came up to Jiang Zheliu¡¯s chest, but the puppet master liked to assemble bodies very much, so he could change his image at any time, and was not limited to just the appearance of a child.


    ¡°You¡¯re on your last breath.¡± He Tan looked again at the resurrection stone around his neck, ¡°Xianzun is depleted of cultivation, and your body is already in this state, aren¡¯t you afraid it¡¯s dangerous here?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already said I¡¯m on my last breath, so what is there to fear?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was silent for a moment: ¡°En.¡±


    The puppet master laughed: ¡°That¡¯s great, but why didn¡¯t you come here with him?¡±


    This was obvious to others, but to He Tan it was not obvious at all. Ghost cultivators did not have any empathy, and it was hard for them to imagine a word like ¡°unbearable¡±.


    ¡°He will cry.¡± Jiang Zheliu thought about, ¡°he¡¯s very afraid of me leaving.¡±


    ¡°Well, did you tell him that you came here?¡± He Tan asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ You didn¡¯t conceal from him that you are close to death right?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s eyes were a little out of focus, and after a long time, he nodded slowly.


    ¡°En. I didn¡¯t have the heart to say goodbye to him forever.¡±


    The little puppet master cut off some of his white hair, tied it up into a little knot, and then put it into a precious box.


    He turned his head and glanced at the female devil staring at him from the sidelines. He could sense that feeling of violence and recklessness of the Devil race that was emanating from Gong Yiyan¡¯s body, and he asked with worry: ¡°Did you make a will or something? I¡¯m afraid that the Devil Lord¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± Jiang Zheliu comforted him, ¡°he won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    He Tan wiped his hands next to her, and complained in a quiet voice: ¡°I reconnected all the meridians that were broken in his body. You have no idea, I¡¯m practically going blind¡­¡±


    Gongyi Yan stared at him, but didn¡¯t reply, after a while she finally asked: ¡°Is a puppet that good-looking?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡­ No.¡± He Tan said, ¡°I haven¡¯t made him into a puppet.¡±


    Gongyi Yan stared blankly, she turned her head and stared at him intently.


    The Ling Xiao Sword was still standing on the edge of the jade table, and was not sealed into his body, which showed that He Tan did not use the method of puppetry to restore his cultivation.


    ¡°Although I am reconnecting meridians of a corpse, he is just so beautiful that I couldn¡¯t do it.¡± He Tan said truthfully, ¡°And¡­ anyway you devils are so stubborn, do you really think the Devil Lord would be so obedient to not go looking for him?¡±


    It was impossible.


    ¡°As long as we put your Devil Lord¡¯s focus on Jiang Xianzun, only then, will you not die, and I won¡¯t get in any trouble either.¡± He Tan sighed and reached out to look around the chest until he fished out a tiny box containing a pearl which he put into Jiang Zheliu¡¯s mouth.


    This jade pearl was very small, barely noticeable in his mouth. But it did not slide down his throat.


    Ghost Cultivators were good at preserving corpses. This jade pearl could keep Jiang Zheliu¡¯s body in this state forever. His corpse wouldn¡¯t turn to ash like a normal cultivator, nor would it rot. It would always be soft and warm, just like he was asleep.


    But he was not breathing, and there was no heartbeat.


    ¡°This is Jiang Xianzun¡¯s last opportunity.¡±


    He Tan stared at him, as if he was a little reluctant to let him go, ¡°If he can wake up, I will become the Devil Lord¡¯s benefactor, what¡­.. a risky gamble.¡±


    He turned around, stood on tiptoes to get a lamp off of the shelf.

 CH 48

    When Wenren Ye received the letter, his first reaction was that it was a strategy or plot cooked up by the Cultivation World in order to distract him.


    He didn¡¯t believe it.


    But he still retracted the black blade in his hand, and made the knife dissipate into thin air before opening up the letter.


    He recognised the handwriting of Jiang Zheliu, a very mature style. The tone of voice was also like him, his manner of speaking was very concise, explaining the entire situation and asking Wenren Ye not to go looking for him.


    The sentences were so cold and concise, that there was not one superfluous word used, as if he was just writing to an acquaintance he had just met.


    He still didn¡¯t believe it, in fact, it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t believe it, it was that he was still wholeheartedly of the belief that¡ª¡ª the little willow tree had said that he would stay with him and would never leave him.


    Shi Binghen had learned more about the situation from the person who had delivered the letter. He didn¡¯t know what to say at this moment. After a long while, he hesitated and said: ¡°¡­¡­ my Devil Lord, Gongyi Yan also sent word back with a location, there could be a turning point with the Devil Queen.¡±


    ¡­¡­. Turning point?


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    What turning point? Could it be a resurrection.


    Wenren Ye¡¯s thoughts were a little rigid. He had gained an understanding of the word ¡°death¡± when he was young, and gained a thorough understanding of it when he grew up, so he believed himself to understand its meaning.


    His father fell to flaming calamity not long ago, and was annihilated before achieving the ultimate goal of all cultivators of Dao Fusion, leaving behind only an incredibly dangerous and precious Dao seed.


    Could it be that his knowledge of ¡°death¡± was not actually enough?


    At the bottom of this letter was written the coordinates to a location that was written in a script that was unique to the Devil Realm and attached to the letter. Wenren Ye flipped over the letter, his gaze rested on the seal script by his fingertips. His purple eyes barely moved from the coordinates. After a while, he finally spoke, ¡°Shi Binghen.¡±


    His voice was unexpectedly quiet, but it still made the great devil in red¡¯s heart tremble and his mind buzz with confusion.


    Shi Binghen had an ominous feeling.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to make a trip over there.¡± Wenren Ye said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave things to you here.¡±


    Shi Binghen nodded, thought for a moment and then said: ¡°Devil Lord, you¡­¡­ you¡¯re not too upset are you¡­¡­.¡±


    Wenren Ye wasn¡¯t even listening to him, as if he had just shut himself off automatically, so naturally no response was given. Instead, the teleportation spell was activated directly heading to the location indicated.


    It wasn¡¯t until Wenren Ye had left that Shi Binghen recovered his senses, he turned his head and glanced at the devil who had come to deliver the letter and asked him about the Devil Queen¡¯s condition, and then sighed helplessly: ¡°Convene all the high-ranking Generals, I have a feeling¡­¡­. The Devil Lord will soon give up on our gentle progress.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡­.?¡±


    ¡°How can I explain this?¡± Shi Binghen stroked his chin, ¡°People are prone to make irrational decisions when they have received a harsh shock, but such decisions are often more effective and¡­more dangerous.¡± ¡°


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean, now that the Devil Queen is not here, who cares if the Cultivation World lives or dies.¡± The great devil in red licked his sharp teeth, and from the tone of his voice, the innate violent nature of the devil race could be heard, ¡°get ready to attack.¡±


    But the little devil could not, he believed wholeheartedly in Jiang Zheliu¡¯s promise.


    Wenren Ye picked him up and carried him out of the carriage, taking Ling Xiao Sword as well. He looked at the gloomy lamp, and thought it was just a normal lamp but since it was for Jiang Zheliu, he decided to take it as well.


    The entire time he hadn¡¯t asked a single thing to Gongyi Yan, until she blocked his path.


    ¡°My Devil Lord.¡± Gongyi Yan¡¯s eyes behind the mask glowed a deep blue, ¡°The Devil Queen has only temporarily left you, in fact, he is¡­¡­¡±


    She didn¡¯t finish her sentence.


    Gongyi Yan was blocking his way, and was thrown a hundred meters away by a strong and oppressive devilish energy, straight through lush trees and rocks, before being smacked into a stone wall.


    She turned her head and spat out a mouthful of blood, she wasn¡¯t bothered by it at all and instead reached out to fix the falcon mask over her face, before staring back at Wenren Ye.


    She watched as her Devil Lord whispered quietly in Jiang Zheliu¡¯s ear.


    But even though the Dao body had its meridians reconnected and had been repaired smoothly, even if it was kept at body temperature by the jade pearl and the body did not rot, it had already lost the support of the soul. It couldn¡¯t speak, wouldn¡¯t open its eyes, and won¡¯t respond to him anymore .


    She climbed back up, because she was bleeding internally, she spat out another mouthful of blood. But this kind of injury was not serious for the devils, in the end, it was just painful, and it was the type of pain that she could endure.


    Gongyi Yan watched as the Devil Lord took the Devil Queen away.


    She closed her eyes, and she had an ominous feeling that was not too different from what Shi Binghen was feeling.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    They were right to have an ominous feeling.


    Yu Jinnian was ¡°invited¡± to the Devil Realm, He Tan was also ¡°invited¡± to the Devil Realm.


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    Wrong, five realms. The Empty3 has never been part of this world, hidden in the macrocosm of the other side.


    He Tan nodded his own little head, and said regretfully: ¡°I thought that I wouldn¡¯t get into any trouble, but in the end I still got dragged over here¡­¡­¡­ The ghosts are not worth¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even go there.¡± Yu Jinnian patted him on the head. His hand was frozen, it was like touching a corpse so he quickly retracted his hand and said: ¡°And that lamp of yours, is there really hope?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He Tan laid down on the table and flipped over, ¡°A resurrection device, that¡¯s how it is used, but I¡¯ve never seen anyone succeed.¡±


    Yu Jinnian¡¯s eyes widened: ¡°But you¡­..¡±


    Wenren Ye sat at the edge of the bed, and stared at Jiang Zheliu for a long time. The violence and irritability from battle can be smoothed out at this moment, and the feeling of being affected by the killing often returned to normal when he was beside the little willow tree.


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s robes had white plum blossoms embroidered upon them, and were hidden in the corners of his sleeves, making them unclear at first glance. His long snow-white hair draped down softly, his long and delicate eyelashes slanted downwards, he had a calm expression upon the soft pillow, there was not the slightest difference in his appearance.


    Wenren Ye stared for a while longer and then reached out to smooth out his hair, and then whispered: ¡°You¡¯re still tired?¡±


    No reply, but Wenren Ye didn¡¯t mind, it was as if he could feel the harmonious breathing of Jiang Zheliu, as long as he could hear the sound of his breathing, his anger and suffering could be eased in an instant.


    The little willow tree was asleep and would not reply.


    It doesn¡¯t matter. Wenren Ye thought calmly to himself, he lowered his head and planted a light kiss on the other¡¯s lips, it was cool and soft, bringing with it a very familiar smell.


    ¡°I let Jin Yujie go.¡± He said, ¡°He¡¯s your junior, I don¡¯t think you¡¯d want him to die.¡±


    The little devil stretched out his hand, and gently opened Jiang Zheliu¡¯s robes that were embroidered with plum blossoms, moved his undershirt, and applied medicine on the stitches and scars on his body.

 CH 49

    During the first year following the little willow tree¡¯s slumber, the fires of war spread across the lands, but the leader of this war was still returning every night to sleep with him. He continued to hold him and talk to him, everything staying just as it did before, as if he was just in a deep coma from his illness. He was simply sleeping to recover whilst staying by Wenren Ye¡¯s side and nothing more.


    No one dared to speak the truth, the Devil Realm just like the rest of the world, acting out a play with the Devil Lord called ¡°He hasn¡¯t abandoned me.¡±


    Those who dared to speak out had all been killed.


    Tongues were wagging in the Cultivation World, saying that the actions of Wenren Ye was dishonourable to Jiang Xianzun. But they were also hopeless as they were in the middle of a war with the Devil Realm and were barely escaping with their lives.


    During the third year following the little willow tree¡¯s slumber, Chang Qian returned to Jingshan Hall from the Demon Realm, and saw his little uncle and his shenxian gege again. He stood at the bottom of the steps, watching his little uncle feed Jiang Zheliu some medicine. He felt weak all over and was unable to even utter a word.


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    In the end, Chang Qian did not stay in Jingshan Hall to look after gege, and instead entered the Devil Realm¡¯s army following Shi Binghen to war. He learnt about the toils of war and about battle planning and scheming. He also managed to activate his half-devil bloodline that had lay dormant for many years. This also brought out his strong but atrocious looking devil body.


    Ah-Chu didn¡¯t return, he didn¡¯t dare to see him again.


    In the fifth year of his slumber, the Devil Lord¡¯s state of mind had become worse and worse, but the stalemate in the battle with the Netherworld finally had a breakthrough. After the ink knife split the River of the Dead in half, the source of the Netherworld¡¯s strength was also severed. After searching for years, Lan Re Temple finally found Ming Jing¡¯s location through his Buddha¡¯s lamp. They intended to work with the devils to go and rescue the heir-apparent of their temple who had disappeared for several years.


    Gongyi Yan agreed in place of her Devil Lord, because when the messenger arrived from Lan Re Temple, the Devil Lord was with Jiang Xianzun, so there was no way that he would have listened to anything the messenger had to say.


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    The two of them belonged in a world of their own. Wenren Ye could very naturally chat with Jiang Xianzun, even if only his voice could actually be heard.


    The hallucinations fabricated by his mind were getting more and more serious, and he was showing signs of entering qi deviation. The devils were a peculiar race, when they used ¡®qi deviation¡¯, they just meant that his mind was unstable.


    Whatever the race, to any cultivator, this was fatal.


    But their hands were bound and they couldn¡¯t do anything.


    In the tenth year of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s slumber, Wenren Ye finally began to realise that Jiang Zheliu was sleeping for a little too long.


    But in addition to this, his deteriorating mind had also become more serious. Just as before, he could not believe that ¡°perhaps he was already dead¡±. Instead, he still believed that Jiang Zheliu was simply ignoring him, and he wondered if he had upset his beloved in some way.


    It was not only Wenren Ye¡¯s mind that was not normal, Yu Jinnian and He Tan were also struggling.


    During the Divine Sage of Medicine and the Ghost Puppet Master¡¯s 3500th meeting, the two of them looked at each other, both feeling miserable.


    ¡°What are you crying for?¡± He Tan said angrily, ¡°Wang Wenyuan¡¯s whereabouts have been revealed, he will be captured by the devils very soon. Your little mute will be able to recover in no time, be happy and stop fussing.¡±


    Yu Jinnian couldn¡¯t even be bothered to bicker with him, he slumped down on the rattan chair and looked up at the sky, but all he could see was the pitch-black dome in the great hall of the Devil Realm. He stayed silent for a long while and then finally straightened his face and said: ¡°You say that, but why don¡¯t you cheer up then?¡±


    ¡°What have I got to be happy about?¡± He Tan stretched out his short little legs, ¡°I¡¯m a ghost cultivator, although I don¡¯t need sleep,why do I have to grab my medical knife to consult the patient in the middle of the night, am I not a healer?¡±


    He asked a question that was questioning his own ghostly existence.


    ¡°Plus the Netherworld is in battle with the Devil Lord, but I¡¯m caged here!¡± He slapped the chair with anger and then continued to moan, ¡°¡­¡­¡­ But it¡¯s good to not have to fight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also here to treat an illness, but the dutiful wife is unable to cook rice without the ingredients1. This isn¡¯t an illness, this person is already¡­..¡±


    The end of the sentence got stuck in his throat and he was unable to say it out loud.


    The Chinese doctor and the Western doctor sighed simultaneously due to their common predicament.


    Yu Jinnian wasn¡¯t sure what kind of syrup he should prescribe today.


    Just at that moment when the two of them were both speechless, there were suddenly two knocks at the door and then it opened. Shi Binghen had come to pick up the new prescription of the day.


    The great devil in red was even more wooden than the two of them, this had already become a routine task. Until he was blocked from advancing by He Tan.


    He Tan was incredibly curious, his eyes glowing like crystals: ¡°General Shi, is Devil Lord Wenren improving at all? Is there any news from the Cultivation World¡­¡­.¡±


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    And it was because of this, Shi Binghen had witnessed much more than the others had seen.


    The great devil in red handed the prescription to the little child who was preparing the medicine and then put down his sword and handed over his cloak to the servants at the door, before walking across the palace hall looking towards the screen at the rear of the hall.


    The lights flickered creating shadows. The light from the lamp and the natural light mixed together and illuminated the figure behind the screen.


    He heard Wenren Ye¡¯s deep voice, which was using a very gentle and careful tone.


    ¡°Will you stop ignoring me?¡±


    He raised a hand, it seemed as if he was holding onto Jiang Xianzun¡¯s hand, it was not too evident through the hazy screen.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come back earlier, I won¡¯t make you wait too long¡­..¡±


    Shi Binghen closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and then he stopped in front of the screen and reported to Wenren Ye the advancements in the war.


    Their Devil Lord¡¯s sickness did not seem to have any effect on other matters, he was still able to calmly listen to him explain what was happening with the war, he was also able to retain all the locations of their army camps and the number of casualties.


    In reality, this was already enough, the devils were able to continue surviving as the natural resources that they had obtained were enough for them to grow and develop. But Wenren Ye was unwilling to stop before the Netherworld, he had a natural enmity against ghost cultivators¡­.. More precisely, against the River of the Dead.


    This source of this enmity came from the fight when he had almost severed the enormous ghostly chains previously.


    When Shi Binghen had finished reporting, he should have left but he waited there without moving a muscle for a long time.


    He stared at his Devil Lord¡¯s back, watched him cuddling the lifeless corpse ¡ª¡ª even if Jiang Xianzun was still beautiful and exquisite, beautiful like he had been carved out of icy jade.


    He watched in the crack of the screen as his Devil Lord¡¯s bony hand smoothed through Jiang Xianzun¡¯s snow-white hair, and then placed him in his arms, and then brushed his hair up before placing a jade hairpin at the top.


    Whilst Jiang Zheliu was just obediently leaned against his arm, with his head on the other¡¯s shoulder. The hand that was resting on Wenren Ye¡¯s black robes was frosty, his fingertips were ever so slightly red, he looked as if he was just sleeping in his arms.


    The Tan Lamp was lit, with his broken soul swirling around the heart of the lamp.


    Shi Binghen felt a chill in his heart, as if he had been trapped in a block of ice, he slowly left Jingshan Hall.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Thirty years later.


    Wang Wenyuan who had been calculating and scheming all his life had been found in the Netherworld. He was locked under innumerable iron chains by He Sorsi. He looked like someone who had suffered a nervous breakdown and was not looking too normal in the head either.


    But it didn¡¯t matter, the devils did not require him to be in the correct frame of mind. This former Pavilion Lord of Tianji Pavilion was brought and locked up in the secret water prison underneath Jingshan Hall.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Not long after, each realm discovered what this ¡°true calamity¡± was.


    Wenren Ye had gone completely mad.


    He negated the agreement, and washed each realm in blood. Aside from the Mortal Realm who were powerless to resist, all the others died under the Devil Lord¡¯s bloody wrath. His current thunderous might was considerably different from his previous boiling frog attitude. The war was advancing at an incredulous speed, and innumerable souls had fallen under his knife.


    In a short ten years, he was conferred the Supreme Leader of Six Realms, even the Empty that had never had any contact with the rest of the realms came out to reach an agreement, sending a letter to request that the Devil Lord not set forth into their peaceful realm.


    He Sorsi had shed his body and fell into a deep slumber, Qing Lin retreated, challengers from the Cultivation World fell continuously one after the other, it was a bloodbath.


    Under the heavens, there now only existed one Lord.


    Now, not even a peep of idle gossip could be heard, the name Jiang Zheliu had become taboo, it was a mistake to mention it. No one said anything, and no one dared to speak the truth. There was only the faintly glowing Tan Lamp that was still standing there as it was before, showing no interest in anything.


    Even those generals who had accompanied Wenren Ye on his missions did not dare to touch upon the subject. Their Devil Lord had succeeded in fulfilling the Devil Realm¡¯s long time wish, and had achieved what others had only dreamt of doing. However, their Devil Lord did make them worry.


    He had mood swings often. When he was in a good mood, he would just feed medicine to the Devil Queen, help the latter to freshen up and get dressed, and carry him back to Zhongnan Mountain to see the plum blossoms.


    When he was occupied with the Devil Queen, he was relatively pleasant.


    When he was in a bad mood, he would be trapped inside the Dao Seed of slaughter losing all rationality. The most serious thing was that the murderous energy was difficult to contain and he had even injured Shi Binghen and Gongyi Yan, as well as a large number of devilish generals and destroyed Jingshan Hall.


    As Shi Binghen spat out a mouthful of blood, he covered up his internal injuries with his hand. He exchanged a glance with Gongyi Yan who was just as injured as he was, and then watched as their Devil Lord retracted his blade and turned around to help Jiang Xianzun change his robes.


    All the energy in his body had been exerted, Shi Binghen was so weak he fell to the ground, he didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or to cry, after a long while, he rubbed his devil horn and sighed: ¡°I can¡¯t believe that this time, it was still Jiang Xianzun who saved our lives.¡±


    Gongyi Yan had almost transformed entirely into her devilish form, even the scaly horns that had grown from behind her ears were in pain, her arms were half transformed into wings. She twitched her eyebrows.


    ¡°You should try to study a bit more about the Sealing method.¡±


    Shi Binghen¡¯s mouth was filled with fresh blood, he retracted the blood wings behind his back and then gasped: ¡°Seal our own Devil Lord, I don¡¯t think there is anyone on Earth who is more pitiful than us two subordinates. Even if I was able to find a way to seal our Devil Lord¡¯s emotions, who would cast it?¡±


    It was impossible. There was only one person who could get close enough to Wenren Ye, but this person was dead.


    Gongyi Yan threw her arms out, her hands which were previously transforming into steel wings began to revert to human form.


    ¡° When we get to the mountain, there¡¯ll be a road through4.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Shi Binghen was incredibly frustrated, ¡°even if there is a road, we can¡¯t stop, until our superior sends us away.¡±


    The two great devils bitterly tried to support the peace and tranquility of the Devil Realm, whilst looking into the Emotions Sealing Method, to make sure they were fully prepared until ¡ª¡ª Zen Master Ming Jing came to visit.


    He who dared to come into the Devil Realm under such circumstances was truly a brave master, to dare to face the darkness of one¡¯s own existence.


    Ming Jing was not obstructed in any way, or in other words, to the devils, he was not considered a threat at all.


    The little monk was dressed in white Buddhist robes, wearing a conical bamboo hat, which had a long semi-transparent muslin fabric which draped down all around it.


    The Zen Master stood by Jingshan Hall, waiting for Shi Binghen to announce his arrival, before entering the palace hall whilst looking at the screen.


    At first glance, he saw the Tan Lamp which was still lit.


    Ming Jing took a few steps closer and saw the Devil Lord¡¯s black robes and black hair, he was sitting on the chair beside the bed. The latter¡¯s gaze was fixed on the bed the whole time and didn¡¯t look over at him at all.

 CH 50

    Jiang Zheliu had been asleep for a long time.


    The dreamscape belonged to the darkness. His fractured mind seemed to suddenly come back together.


    Jiang Zheliu opened his eyes.


    The Tan Lamp was still letting out a dull glow, from the angle he was lying in, he couldn¡¯t see a window, so he could not tell what time it was. In the lamp, there was only a natural flame, the broken parts of soul that were floating around in the lamp had disappeared.


    He had an awful migraine but he endured it. His gaze moved slowly around him until he saw the person on the other side of the bed.


    The little devil was on the other side of the bed keeping him company, as if he was also sleeping.


    He suddenly felt that there was something very different about him.


    His pair of hard devil horns had become brighter in colour, with blood-coloured patterns running all over them, it was incredibly unpleasant to the eye. When he leaned in closer, there was even a strong scent of devilish energy.


    Jiang Zheliu stretched out his hand, and found that even in that moment was difficult for him.


    He didn¡¯t really understand what was going on. He didn¡¯t know whether Wenren Ye had dug him out of his grave, or if he had found some method to reincarnate him into someone else¡¯s body. His memory was also a little fuzzy, the images in his mind were unclear.


    The little devil had his eyes closed, he had a look on his face that Jiang Zheliu had never seen before, it was indescribably pitiful.


    He lifted up his hand with difficulty and touched the devil horns. Wenren Ye woke up because of this, and lifted his head.


    The two of them looked at each other, without saying a word for a short while.


    Those deep purple eyes stared at him deeply as if he suspected himself to be dreaming. But he quickly discovered that this was not a dream but in fact, reality.


    The little devil could not take his eyes off him, and didn¡¯t not speak for a long time. When he wanted to open his mouth to speak, it was as if his throat had been blocked by something, not even a tiny syllable was able to escape from his mouth. He could only reach out and slowly stroke the other¡¯s cheek.


    Jiang Zheliu let him touch him, he thought that this reaction was not particularly normal. But he had not fully awoken properly yet, so he was also unable to speak and in an instant, he was swept up into Wenren Ye¡¯s arms.


    Warm, expectant and even a little painfully out of control.


    ¡­¡­.. Angry?


    Jiang Zheliu would never have expected that he would ask this, he had no idea why he would think that, and he didn¡¯t understand why he would ask this question. He could only pretend to understand and looked into that pair of deep purple eyes.


    ¡°Did you not want me anymore before?¡±


    The question was said with much grievance that Jiang Zheliu questioned himself somewhat even though he had never said such a thing. His throat slowly recovered, and his body was gradually awakened by the return of his souls, and he was slowly able to speak.


    ¡°¡­¡­ What? ¡­¡­.. *cough*.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t able to ask properly but instead he coughed out a sweet jade pearl from his throat.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± The little devil didn¡¯t seem to care about getting an answer but instead began to rub his horns against him and then lowered his head to kiss him on the forehead, ¡°as long as you don¡¯t ignore me again.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu: ¡­¡­.


    What the hell happened during the time before he was resurrected. He¡¯d already been kind of dim-witted, but now he seemed¡­. utterly¡­¡­.


    Jiang Zheliu wasn¡¯t able to continue down that train of thought as the other had looped his arms around his waist tightly. The little devil grabbed his hand, each finger was gently massaged until he slowly recovered movement in them.


    Jiang Zheliu stretched out his arm, and got rid of the remaining stiffness, and then returned to hold the other¡¯s hand, he then asked: ¡°How long¡­.. Have I been sleeping?¡±


    His sharp mind made him avoid using the word ¡°dead¡±, and he successfully cleared the minefield.


    Wenren Ye looked into his eyes as if it had been a very very long time that he hadn¡¯t seen these eyes open, and he slowly replied: ¡°En.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I did wrong to make you ignore me.¡± The great devil who was suppressing his energy stared at him, everything he said was with complete calm and incomparable sincerity: ¡°Could you not be mad at me anymore, I will do anything you want, don¡¯t abandon me¡­.. I only want you.¡±


    Although Jiang Zheliu was unable to make sense of the situation, he thought that he should also just agree to what he was saying: ¡°I won¡¯t, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Wenren Ye was still staring at him, without thinking of even looking away for a second, until Jiang Zheliu¡¯s tickly throat made him cough a few times, he finally went over to the table to get the bowl of medicine and sat beside him to feed it to him.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Even if Yu Jinnian was able to fix brains, he had never treated a case like this.


    But Yu Jinnian and He Tan actually rarely went into Jingshan Hall. The two of them avoided the place where Wenren Ye would spend the most of his time in, so they were not the first to be informed that Jiang Zheliu had woken up.


    The first to hear the news was Chang Qian.


    When Jiang Zheliu saw him, Chang Qian¡¯s appearance had changed greatly from before. His youthful body had got much taller, he looked between a teenager and young adult ¨C slim build, standing very upright, and his arms were covered with lean muscles, it was clear that he had been able to tap into the power of being half-demon and half-devil.


    He looked like he had matured a lot on the outside, like a 17 or 18 year old. He still had black hair and snake eyes, his hair was tied up into a high ponytail and he was wearing a devilish robe and light armour. He was completely different from the child Jiang Zheliu had once known.


    When Jiang Zheliu¡¯s eyes met Chang Qian¡¯s snake pupils, his first reaction was to ask, ¡°How long have I been sleeping?¡±


    Chang Qian pulled a chair over, sat by the bed and began to calculate the days that had gone by: ¡°Almost eighty years.¡±


    In the first ten years, little uncle was still only living in his own hallucination, not being able to see the whole picture. The following thirty years after that, his behaviour became erratic, and unstable and his killing intent increased exponentially. After that he decimated every realm in the span of forty years, suppressing those who tried to rebel against him, and began to exhibit the signs of falling into qi deviation, occasionally his mind has been taken over by the Dao seed of slaughter, which was the most dangerous thing.


    The dust had already settled on the war, but Wenren Ye¡¯s situation had become worse and worse.


    Chang Qian still looked very youthful, but the devilish and demonic energy on his body was incredibly dense. It looked like he had already formed his primordial spirit, which at his age meant that his cultivation and talent was considered quite good.


    Eighty years¡­.


    Jiang Zheliu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, not knowing what to say. The pain in his heart began to grow, seemingly developing into an unbearable fissure.


    Chang Qian sat on the edge of the bed and told him a lot of things that had happened over the years. He mentioned that Wang Wenyuan was locked up in the water prison under the Jingshan Hall, and that although the latter was not dead, he was in a peculiar mental state. He also mentioned the little mute¡¯s locking sound spell had been undone¡­¡­ The two brothers saw each other once, but no one knew what they had actually talked about.


    Chang Qian also talked about Ah-Chu, who had been personally trained by the Azure Dragon Zhenjun. The latter was extremely well-regarded in the Demon Realm, and had become the Azure Dragon Zhenjun¡¯s right-hand man.


    He spoke a lot, until the sun set over West Mountain, he finally stopped speaking and turned towards Jiang Zheliu and murmured: ¡°¡­¡­.gege.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    He sucked until Jiang Zheliu¡¯s soft tongue became numb, until he made his thin colourless lips become red and swollen, just as a fragrant aroma began to disperse.


    The Heavenly Spirit Body was also reawakening.


    Jiang Zheliu had only tugged at his collar and kissed him, but the little devil could not stop at all. His actions are getting more and more out of the ordinary, more and more excessive, and he seemed to have gone out of the bounds of sanity, running in some strange out-of-control direction. His heart was beating wildly, but not the kind of pounding heart he once had, but instead, it was even more profound, even more helpless, like someone who was stuck in the mud and about to breath his last breath.


    Until he bit into Jiang Zheliu¡¯s tongue.


    The little devil¡¯s canine-like teeth were too sharp.


    The smell of fresh blood dispersed. Jiang Zheliu winced, he secretly regretted his previous provocation, and slowly breathed out, his voice resonating from the back of his throat, it was soft and quiet.


    ¡°¡­¡­.. It hurts.¡±


    He opened his mouth, and exposed the tip of his tongue to show the little devil the wound.

 CH 51

    Wenren Ye stared at the tip of his tongue looking at the red bite mark. He stared at it numbly for a while, he didn¡¯t say a word, but instead lowered his head and kissed him again.


    Not leaving any margin to escape.


    The little devil was not any gentler. He sucked on Jiang Zheliu¡¯s bitten soft tongue, teasing that slightly painful spot, he watched as Jiang Zheliu frowned very lightly, and then he heard a subtle gasp come from the other as he kissed him.


    He recovered a glimmer of reality from his daze, which made him relax his aggressiveness and he released Jiang Zheliu¡¯s lips.


    The corner of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s lip had also been bitten by him, and had reddened to a great extent.


    ¡°Why are you¡­¡­.¡± Jiang Zheliu closed his eyes and then opened them, his breath still not regulated, he helplessly looked at him ¡°Why are you being so aggressive.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Apologise first if in doubt, ¡°you kissed me first.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu didn¡¯t speak for a moment, he couldn¡¯t fault his answer.


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    He glanced over at that bowl of sugar water and whispered: ¡°Are you feeding me that because you think I¡¯m not sweet enough?¡±


    Only then did Wenren Ye realise that that was the sweet taste in his mouth. When Jiang Zheliu lifted his head to kiss him, he only saw that person in front of him and he had completely forgotten about the ¡®medicine¡¯. He glanced over at the bowl of medicine and then after a while he said: ¡°They¡¯ve been lying to me?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu sighed, then he used a calm voice, trying to keep it as soft and understanding as possible: ¡°When I was asleep, there was no way of healing me, nor was I ill¡­..¡±


    ¡°You were.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was interrupted by him.


    He watched as Wenren Ye turned back around and his haunting eyes stared straight at him, there was an unyielding paranoia in his eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re still not better yet.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu was speechless, at this moment he didn¡¯t know whether he should agree that he was sick or to disagree.


    It was too difficult to decide, he never thought that one day. He would be in such a state of confusion.


    ¡°Perhaps he thought that your case was hopeless.¡± Wenren Ye looked deeply at him, when he said this, he seemed to be in a very ordinary state of mind, but everything that he was saying was becoming more and more terrifying, ¡°Perhaps, he wanted to give up on you?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± Jiang Zheliu interrupted him and then quickly changed the subject, ¡°it¡¯s because my condition has improved so he added some sugar to the prescription.¡±


    He reached out and pulled the devil¡¯s face towards him, and came face to face to that pair of bottomless eyes, spelling out each word: ¡°It¡¯s not that Xiao Yu has given up on me, this is for my own good, don¡¯t be so negative.¡±


    Wenren Ye continued to look into his eyes, staying silent for a long while and then he finally nodded very lightly.


    Jiang Zheliu was still worried, his heart suddenly began to beat faster, he subconsciously instructed: ¡°Don¡¯t kill them.¡±


    The glimmer in Wenren Ye¡¯s eyes suddenly disappeared, he did not react or respond to what he had just said.


    ¡­¡­. Why had he become like this?


    ¡°I dreamt that I turned into a cat, I didn¡¯t have any cultivation and just wandered the world.¡± Wenren Ye looked away towards the window which had a very soft light filtering in, ¡°I met you, I was filthy from head to toe, but you were still Ling Xiao Sect¡¯s Xianzun and took me in without question.¡±


    ¡°You fed me and gave me a roof over my head, and cultivated in front of me, we spent every moment together, never leaving each other. But there was one day, you suddenly told me you had to leave and then you departed without saying a word.¡±


    ¡°I waited for you at home for a really long time but you never came back. I didn¡¯t know why you left me, was it because I am too useless?¡±


    Even though, when he was telling this story he didn¡¯t sound like he was particularly upset but Jiang Zheliu still felt very sad listening to it, he lightly breathed out and wanted to say to him ¡°it¡¯s not like that¡± and to tell him ¡°you are really amazing¡± but he didn¡¯t say a word.


    ¡°I wait for you every day, I can eat less, I don¡¯t have to sleep with you on the bed, I can stop disturbing you when you are reading¡­.. I didn¡¯t know what made you hate me, but I can change¡­..¡±


    ¡°But you still didn¡¯t come back. You abandoned me.¡±


    The little devil lowered his head and stared at the little willow tree¡¯s slender fingers for a while.


    ¡°Zheliu.¡± He stared at his fingertips, ¡°was this dream really childish? I can¡¯t believe that someone of my cultivation level could still be disturbed by a nightmare, in reality, it¡¯s¡­¡­¡±


    So lame.


    Wenren Ye laughed at himself, and then he pulled him over to embrace him and then whispered: ¡°Why would you abandon me, you would never, you told me you¡¯d always stay with me¡­¡­¡±


    Jiang Zheliu had no idea how to comfort him so he could only return his embrace, and coax him lightly in his ear, but he¡¯d only said a few things when he felt that the other¡¯s state of mind was becoming more and more erratic.


    The devilish marks on the little devil¡¯s body were gradually appearing all over his body.


    It was not only this, the bone spurs on his body were also gradually growing, and, on his back, his bone wings were slowly coming out, spreading out like a net that could cover the sky, the edges of his wings hardened like sharp metal.


    Wenren Ye had buried his head against his shoulder, his hard devilish horns were scalding hot, and the blood-coloured devilish scripts upon them were burning brightly. And then his bone wings opened and he surrounded Jiang Zheliu inside. And on the surface of those bone wings were cracks which were bursting open, dripping with blood from the edge of the cracks, emitting a fresh bloody smell that was laced with devilish energy.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    When there is someone who is sleeping well, there is someone else having a sleepless night elsewhere.


    Jiang Zheliu felt guilty and didn¡¯t dare to say another word.


    He had not experienced such strong emotions in his life and could not have anticipated such serious consequences. Previously, he had just thought that ¡ª¡ª the little devil would forget about him as soon as possible, find a new love and start over.


    But when Jiang Zheliu woke up, he realised that his expectations were ridiculous. With the customs of the Devil Realm, as well as the little devil being innately loyal and persistent, he would never let go, how would this peaceful and uneventful outcome that he had imagined ever occur?


    Before he met Wenren Ye, he questioned whether he was able to love. He was indifferent to anything, even after years of guardianship, even if he spent half his life for others, what he knew and felt was just duty and obligation, at most, a little bit of appreciation and affection for his juniors.


    This situation was completely outside his control.


    ¡°You made me come here to get a confession right?¡± Yu Jinnian was astute, he put a stack of prescriptions in front of Jiang Zheliu, ¡°I¡¯ll prescribe you a little medicine to warm up your body, and when you recover a bit more, you¡¯ll be able to cultivate again using your previous method.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu nodded slightly, thanked him, then pondered, ¡°And Wenren Ye ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t cure that.¡± Yu Jinnian had a headache just thinking about it, he didn¡¯t even bother to be respectful and address him as ¡®qianbei¡¯, ¡°whoever hung the bell on the tiger¡¯s neck must untie it3, I think you¡¯re the only one who can come up with a solution.¡±

 CH 52.1

    Wenren Ye¡¯s mental illness could be treated slowly, as long as Jiang Zheliu was present, there shouldn¡¯t be any issue. But the effect of the Dao seed sealed in his body could not wait much longer.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t want to see the other be hurt or spill anymore of his blood.


    But the Dao seed of slaughter¡¯s side effects were too strong, and his state of mind was weakening causing its influence to be even stronger. These two problems seemed to be intertwined with each other, so they should probably actually be treated together.


    ¡°According to what you¡¯ve described, isn¡¯t this just a case of living in his own world.¡± Yu Jinnian reached out and knocked on the table, ¡°or in his head, there is not much difference between you before you were resurrected and now, except that your health seems to have improved.¡±


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    Jiang Zheliu was also thinking this, but he had still not thought of a way to reverse Wenren Ye¡¯s condition.


    The two of them stared at each other, and discussed possible remedies for a long time but were not able to come up with anything in particular.


    Jiang Zheliu had read half of the book in his hand, the contents of the plot had just got to the most erotic part, with most of the contents being too explicit to be able to be posted on JJWXC. The two of them continued to discuss but were unable to come up with a result, so the conversation headed towards what he was reading.


    ¡°What¡¯s this one called?¡± Yu Jinnian leaned forward and glanced at the cover and discovered that it was an old book, ¡°It¡¯s an old novel from eighty years ago. It¡¯s impressive that your bookmark hasn¡¯t moved much.¡±


    ¡°The little devil doesn¡¯t touch my things.¡± Jiang Zheliu was concise, ¡°you lot shouldn¡¯t either.¡±


    Yu Jinnian lamented: ¡°Making a vegetarian who has just tasted meat for the first time1 to suppress his desire is really tough. However¡­..¡±


    His words suddenly halted, and he turned to look at Jiang Zheliu, looking at him up and down, it was not known what colourful thoughts had popped into his head, after a while he finally said: ¡°If your health isn¡¯t good, he definitely won¡¯t touch you.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu nodded calmly, waiting for him to finish.


    ¡°If you see that Wenren Ye¡¯s condition worsens to the point of no return, does that mean that the rest of your life will be unbearable.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu hadn¡¯t really considered this, he looked down at the book in his hand, and then glanced over at Yu Jinnian and said: ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°I want to say¡ª¡ª¡± Yu Jinnian smiled, ¡°If you let Wenren Ye have his way with you, having experienced it for himself, he will naturally know that you are no longer terminally ill, and perhaps that can alleviate his hallucinations¡­..¡±


    B*stard, he really wants him to pay a heavy price, to propose such a savage remedy.


    He paused for a moment.


    ¡°Perhaps we can try it.¡±


    Now his hands were bound and he was unable to do anything about it, so why not treat the dead horse like a living horse3. But even though his health had improved slightly, he¡¯d be unable to overpower the little devil.

 CH 52.2

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    Jingshan Hall¡¯s water prison had been built recently, there was never this kind of thing before.


    Jiang Zheliu could only leave when the little devil had gone out. He had two devil generals accompanying him. There was Shi Binghen, who was dressed in red and carrying a double edged sword and was talking non-stop and Gongyi Yan who was still wearing her face mask and changpao with a sword on her back.


    They were extra careful with their Devil Queen, no less respectful than how they would treat their Devil Lord. The two of them followed behind anxiously, one male and one female, the grandeur was ample, looking like the ¡®male and female double assassins¡¯1.


    The stone staircase wound round and round on the way down, with no candles illuminating it on either side.


    Jiang Zheliu was holding a lantern and walking slowly down the dark stone steps until he stopped in front of a platform and saw a pool of ice cold water, and in the middle of that pool was a spread of iron chains.


    It was a little cold down there. Gongyi Yan silently took out a white cloak from her storage device and draped it over his shoulders and then took the lantern from his hand.


    Shi Binghen who was standing besides them stared at her with bewilderment, but was only met with the expressionless mask covering his colleague¡¯s face.


    It seemed that when the devils were near their Devil Queen, there was something strange that would happen that could trigger this feeling within them that they ¡®must take care of him¡¯, even though they knew that he belonged to their Devil Lord, it was something that was not in their control.


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    Shi Binghen only glanced over at her, and did not do anything else. He immediately turned his gaze over and focused on the figure in chains.


    Although, one said that it was a figure, in reality, a blurred shadow was more appropriate, as that person was submerged in the water, and they could only see the back of his hand which was riddled with scars.


    But the devils had never visited him, these were all self-inflicted scars.


    Jiang Zheliu stood on the stone platform, and stared silently for a long time before finally saying: ¡°Pavilion Lord Wang.¡±


    The chains moved, and a pair of bloodshot eyes revealed themselves from beneath the water.


    Jiang Zheliu had truly come back from death¡¯s door, perhaps, the prophecy that the little Buddhist monk had never told him was also like this.


    ¡°The answer that you wanted, you have already seen.¡± Jiang Zheliu, ¡°don¡¯t suffer anymore, you have always understood inside, that I am the one who is right.¡±


    ¡°There is a flaw in Tianji Pavilion¡¯s cultivation method, meaning there is a high chance of qi deviation. Since you have cultivated to this point, you must have already noticed it. You have just forced yourself to put all your hate on me, in order to support your own extreme beliefs.¡± His voice was very beautiful, and created some echoes beneath the floor, ¡°If I didn¡¯t kill him that day, then Tianji Pavilion¡¯s reputation would have been completely destroyed and everyone would have been suspicious. You are my junior, and you are very clever, I thought that you could have understood this.¡±


    He turned around and left the stone platform. Behind him, a violent thrashing and shouting could be heard, as the water rippled.

 CH 53

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    Wenren Ye was stunned.


    This was the first time he had heard something like this come out of Jiang Zheliu¡¯s mouth, which had a hint of authority, and was also a little unreasonable. But he had also said it in his usual calm manner as if this was completely ordinary thing.


    Come here, take your clothes off?


    Jiang Zheliu¡¯s arms were wrapped still around his neck, then they loosened a little, only half-holding him, as his eyes which were as calm as water gazed over at him.


    Wenren Ye almost believed that what he had heard was a figment of his own imagination. But Jiang Zheliu was still holding on to his lapel, not letting go, instead pulling him in closer and closer.


    Until they were almost at skin-to-skin contact, that his breath was blowing onto the other¡¯s snow-white lashes, Jiang Zheliu took his hand and then slowly stopped moving and whispered: ¡°What are you thinking.¡±


    Wenren Ye stared at his earlobes which become red from his warm breath, and stared at his fluttering eyelashes, as well as that pair of tranquil and gentle eyes.


    It was clearly Jiang Zheliu who had made the first move but how come now, he was the one that was overflowing with desire.


    Wenren Ye suddenly felt defeated but he could not move his eyes away from him and he was stuck on the other¡¯s words for a long time until he finally said: ¡°¡­.. I was thinking, I can¡¯t take them off.¡±


    ¡­¡­ Huh?


    Jiang Zheliu thought back to before, and thought that he was very much like a husband who was trying to force his kind wife, or the villain who was forcing an honest woman into debauchery, but in those books, these great villains were able to do whatever they wanted to the other party. How come he¡¯d picked up the wrong script and was trying to seduce the little devil to this and that to him.


    Perhaps this was the responsibility of a mature man, he silently consoled himself and then raised his head to kiss Wenren Ye on the lips and asked him: ¡°Why, don¡¯t you want to sleep with me?¡±


    For the good of the person before him, as well as the world and everyone in it, Jiang Xianzun naturally had a great level of tolerance when it came to doing anything for the sake of the greater good.


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    His words were carefully selected, he didn¡¯t say accompany him whilst he slept, but to sleep with him, it seemed quite obviously a vaguely provocative suggestion, that he had taught himself to use.


    Although Jiang Zheliu was inexperienced, thanks to his hobby after retiring, he¡¯d been able to educate himself thoroughly through reading. He was conscious that he was the senior in the relationship, and thought that if this kind of thing could be beneficial to the little devil, then it didn¡¯t really matter if he helped guide the little devil along. Mature men of the world should be thus, able to pick things up and let thing¡¯s go, be open¡­¡­


    Without waiting for him to finish analysing himself, his thoughts were disturbed by something ¡ª¡ª Wenren Ye bit him on his shoulder.


    He had bitten him on the shoulder very lightly, but his teeth were extremely sharp and had drawn blood, a scarlet red began to spread.


    Wenren Ye had just been kissed by him, and had been completely worked up by the other who had no sense of priorities, he had bitten him half-reservedly and half with utter self-indulgence, just like a stray animal that sniffed its prey before ripping it to pieces and devouring it whole.


    The devils had an innate characteristic of wanting to destroy as well as possess something, he could not have been any gentler. Plus the Heavenly Spirit Body was continually mesmerising him, just a little nip had already created a bite mark.


    ¡°¡­¡­Ssss.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu endured it and lightly sighed out loud, Wenren Ye was sucking on his Adam¡¯s apple, a slight pain immediately disappeared.


    But Wenren Ye did not dare to keep trying.


    He let go of Jiang Zheliu and sat on the side of the bed and looked at him. He reached out and grabbed his slender wrist, lowered his head and said: ¡°It¡¯s better if you get some rest, don¡¯t think about anything else. If I hurt you¡­..¡±


    His words stopped there as if he was unwilling to even approach the topic, and he didn¡¯t want to consider what would happen afterwards even more. He didn¡¯t like driving a car down a dangerous road. If there was a chance of falling off a cliff, then it¡¯s better to stop before setting off.


    Wenren Ye¡¯s fingers massaged the inside of his wrist and he continued to say: ¡°Why don¡¯t you recover a little more? Last time, as soon as I made a move you were injured, your entire body was covered in bruises, and you even got sick, don¡¯t be wilful.¡±


    Jiang Zheliu had in fact recovered greatly and was far from the stage where he¡¯d break if he was touched. He stared at Wenren Ye for a long time, and suddenly mustered out a courage out of nowhere and lightly called into question: ¡°¡­¡­ Is it because you¡¯re unable to perform?¡±


    Wenren Ye: ¡°¡­..?¡±


    This was the best method of infuriating a man, as men cannot accept hearing this kind of insult.


    Jiang Zheliu understood this point very well, he stared at Wenren Ye with limpid eyes, as if he was just asking casually, and then he pulled on the other¡¯s fingers and said: ¡°It¡¯s fine, even if you can¡¯t perform, I won¡¯t look down on you.¡±


    He turned around with his back facing Wenren Ye as if he had really given up.


    Given Jiang Zheliu¡¯s ability to deal with matters effectively, he already knew that Wenren Ye wouldn¡¯t be able to resist proving himself to him. But he had underestimated Wenren Ye¡¯s fear of hurting him, even these words were unable to make Wenren Ye fly off the handle.


    But Wenren Ye still leant in anyway, using another method to prove himself.


    ¡°Zheliu, are you blaming me?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu did not speak, he closed his eyes to sleep and ignored him.


    ¡°But last time you were crying the whole time.¡± Wenren Ye said patiently, ¡°You resented me for being too big, I couldn¡¯t enter. You also resented me for not being able to control myself, making you feel like your whole body was about to fall apart, and you even resented me for being stuck inside unable to pull out¡­.. ummm.¡±


    His mouth was blocked by Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand.


    Wenren Ye stared attentively at him, and saw that he had had enough and knitted his brows, he scolded from rage out of humiliation: ¡°Why are you bringing up the past?¡±


    It was rare to see the cold and indignant Jiang Xianzun blush like this.


    Jiang Zheliu was speechless, and felt that a ten year old little girl would feel more secure than Wenren Ye, he paused for a moment, and then confirmed: ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do you still love me?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Jiang Zheliu was having trouble understanding the logic of these two questions, he watched as Wenren Ye began to rub his devil horns against the palm of his hand, like a cat who was doing its utmost to make him caress it.


    What else could he do but coax him.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He said harmoniously and patiently, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry anymore, okay?¡±


    Wenren Ye¡¯s mood gradually settled, pressing his hand against the pillow, he lovingly lowered his head to kiss him.


    As their lips joined, there was an exchange of breaths from one to the other, their two souls mingled together. At the same time, a familiar divine soul began to surround him from all corners which was as gentle as his breath.


    Like snaking vines, a twisting snake that carried a sense of mutual dependence and past experiences, this recently recovered divine soul collided and was absorbed into Wenren Ye¡¯s primordial spirit, just like the feeling of being in his embrace.


    But this energy was far from just an embrace, he had long been prepared, the entanglement was spreading, making their souls fuse completely, interconnected together, making Wenren Ye unable to flee and instead also increase his desire.


    His self-control was completely lost.


    Since the beginning, every interconnection that had been initiated had been made by Wenren Ye, but this time, Jiang Zheliu¡¯s gentle soul was able to exhibit the same kind of strength, directly implicating the other¡¯s emotions and desires.


    Checkmate, the countermove had been made.


    Wenren Ye¡¯s primordial spirit lost control, completely merging with the divine soul that had initiated this embrace. The interconnection was deep, there was no way of disconnecting. He pressed down on Jiang Zheliu¡¯s shoulders and then unconsciously bit his lips.


    Making it red and swollen again.


    ¡°¡­.. Why did you do this¡­¡± The little devil lamented, and then threw his arms around the other¡¯s waist, tightening the embrace and unwilling to let go, whilst staring at his beloved who was smiling slightly.


    He slowly returned the other¡¯s kiss and whispered: ¡°I¡¯m a thousand year old fox, little devil, you should be careful.¡±


    He pulled the little devil¡¯s belt loose, and unhurriedly undid the complicated knot, every moment was a challenge to the other¡¯s rationality.


    Even in this kind of situation, Jiang Xianzun was unhurried and calm, he stripped Wenren Ye of his combat robes, and undid the front of his robes, leaving only an undershirt on this great Devil Lord, and then he undid his own belt.


    Before this, the little devil was still able to bear, but seeing his beloved take off his clothes, his state of mind that was already delicate began to go mad. He moved Jiang Zheliu¡¯s hand out of the way and re-established his authority by taking the lead.


    Jiang Zheliu did not refuse him and gave up control to the stronger party. He passively endured the other¡¯s innate devilish character, as Wenren Ye kissed him with force, when he couldn¡¯t bear it anymore, he tried to avoid the other¡¯s sharp teeth.


    His reddened lips stuck up against Wenren Ye¡¯s ear, his voice was soft and a little hoarse, but also sweet-sounding.


    ¡°Remember¡­. To be careful.¡± He lightly reminded him.


    If you hurt me, I¡¯ll want to flee.


    He wasn¡¯t able to finish his sentence when his lips were blocked.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The next day, early morning.

 CH 54

    Jiang Zheliu, who had injured his waist, ended up sleeping the entire day.


    As the darkness shrouded the sky and evening was near was when he finally woke up with a headache, as soon as he opened his eyes he saw Ah-Chu¡¯s worried face in front of him.


    Ah-Chu in an extremely worried fashion: ¡°Gege are you okay! Are you hurt! That devil had the cheek to say you forced him to do it, he¡¯s so shameless!¡±


    Jiang Zheliu: ¡°¡­¡­.¡±


    The mature man who had been thought to have been wronged stayed silent for a moment, thinking about how to clear things up with Ah-Chu. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, his voice was incredibly hoarse making Ah-Chu even more worried.


    Alright, it seemed he was making things worse.


    ¡°Where is he?¡± Jiang Zheliu asked.


    ¡°He said he had something to attend to and left, he asked me to stay and look after you.¡± Ah-Chu sat down on the side of the bed in a huff. He swept a glance over all the hickeys and love bites on his shenxian gege¡¯s body, looked at the other¡¯s slender and fair neck that had been branded with a sharp tooth print. His worries slowly went away and the lustful thoughts began to rush up.


    Being lecherous was human nature. Ah-Chu comforted himself silently, and then slowly came back to his senses, and stared at him whilst saying: ¡°Although everything is peaceful right now, there are still a lot of matters that Wenren Ye must deal with. Such as expanding the land that was decided on in the agreement, and the new rules for the devils when they enter into the mortal realm¡­.. He¡¯s still very busy.¡±


    He stuck to Jiang Zheliu very closely, he said with satisfaction: ¡°I can sense the Heavenly Spirit Body¡­¡­ Gege, where are you hurting, let me take a look?¡±


    Let you see, yeh right.


    Jiang Zheliu shot a glance at him and used his hand to push the little deer¡¯s antler away, and said in a quiet voice: ¡°With adult matters, children should mind their own business.¡±


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    He lowered his head and fixed his robes. He originally wanted to get out of bed and pour himself a cup of tea, but in the end, his waist was still sore. As soon as he exerted any strength, he¡¯d be in extreme pain. So Jiang Zheliu obediently stayed on the bed, and supported his waist with his hand whilst watching Ah-Chu anxiously pass him a cup of tea.


    ¡°Gege, you¡¯ve already reached a certain age!¡± The little deer opened his eyes wide and poked at a sore subject, ¡°so you mustn¡¯t indulge the Devil Lord anymore!¡±


    Once, Jiang Zheliu had wanted to retire in peace because he was getting old not only in age but in seniority. Plus, he had wanted to retire and get away from all of this chaos. But now, he had a will to live that was perhaps even stronger than the little devil¡¯s. In the face of a comment like this, it was like another critical hit to the system.


    He accepted the cup of tea and took a sip in silence. As he looked down, his feathery eyelashes started to tremble and then he looked up curiously and asked: ¡°I can¡¯t keep up¡­. With his endurance?¡±


    That was clearly not the issue, it was because he was a devil!


    Ah-Chu was not on the same page as him, he calmly and candidly replied: ¡°Seeing you able to get up, I guess Wenren gege didn¡¯t use his full force.¡±


    That could still be considered not using his full force.


    Jiang Zheliu once again suffered another frustration of life, and was not far from shutting down. He regulated his mood, and used the tea to moisten his throat. He said whilst pondering deeply: ¡°It looks like I¡¯m going to have to start cultivating again. Oh yeah, tell me what is happening in the Demon Realm¡­..¡±


    After Ah-Chu went to the Demon Realm, he became the Azure Dragon Zhenjun¡¯s disciple, cultivating closely with her until this day. He lived with Qinglin in Wan Ling Palace but because the latter was extremely busy with managing the Demon Realm, in reality, she was often not there but instead she often stayed with Four Divisions Pill Furnace.


    This was the sword that had followed him for many years and was once a precious token of Ling Xiao Sect that had been passed down for generations. And now, he wondered if that lofty mountain gate that had the two words ¡®Ling Xiao¡¯ engraved upon it, was still standing on top of Miao Yun Mountain.


    He gripped the scabbard and pulled out the sword by half an inch. The patterns on the sword faded, and reflected an eerie sharpness from the moonlight, but this light only reflected for a moment before it was contained once more in the sword.


    Jiang Zheliu lifted up his finger and infused a thread of spiritual energy into the sword body, Ling Xiao sword immediately let out a deep and lingering sound, as if it had been excited about being able to see the light again.


    A sense of delight resonated from the sword.


    Jiang Zheliu gazed at it for a while and had still not put the sword back in its scabbard when he felt a pair of hands loop around his waist from behind, as a light scent of pine and cypress surrounded him.


    He knew who it was and he didn¡¯t not flinch. Wenren Ye got up close to his ear and with astonishment in his voice, he asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re able to get out of bed?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..¡± Jiang Zheliu put the sword away in its scabbard, ¡°are you disappointed?¡±


    Thanks to Wenren Ye¡¯s care and prudence, although he felt tired, he actually only hurt his back and that place, nothing else hurt. Although he was still made to cry, at least he didn¡¯t break apart.


    ¡°I just think it¡¯s strange.¡± The little devil¡¯s breath was blowing on the base of his ear, making it warm and red, and a little itchy. ¡°Are you really¡­. Getting better?¡±


    The hall fell silent for a long, long time.


    Jiang Zheliu couldn¡¯t really get into his book, but he forced himself to be still and concentrate, searching through his slightly blurred memories for a way to stabilise his dao heart. Wenren Ye did not know what he was thinking about, his hand was on the edge of the bed, his clothes still on, and he had no intention of sleeping beside him.


    They were in a stalemate.


    Ever since Jiang Zheliu had woken up, the situation had become very strange. Wenren Ye was hell bent on getting him better, whilst all he could think about was the little devil¡¯s dao heart and hallucination¡¯s issues. There was still some conflicts between them that needed to be resolved.


    One had a problem with his health and the other with his head, and there was not even any communication about their respective conditions.


    In short, the current situation was that they both wanted to cure each other,but the conflict between them either stemmed from the clash between the Little Devil¡¯s illusion and reality, and from Jiang Zheliu¡¯s inevitable worry as he thought about countermeasures.


    Until he no longer turned any pages of the book in his hands.


    Wenren Ye¡¯s breath approached as he leaned closer to the little willow tree; he stared at the book for a while and then said in a quiet voice: ¡°Clear Mind Method?¡±


    This time it wasn¡¯t a fiction novel wrapped up in a different book cover, it was a real Cultivation classic.


    ¡°¡­¡­.En.¡± Jiang Zheliu said, ¡°A common technique used by human cultivators to stabilise their dao hearts.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.. What you just said, is that true?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu lifted his eyes and looked at him, not directly answering his question.


    The little devil lowered his head to brush against him, rubbing Jiang Zheliu¡¯s forehead with his hard devil horns that had glowing blood markings upon it.


    His hand smoothed down the snowy hair that had fallen out of place, running the icy cold glossy strands between his fingers.


    ¡°Do you want to leave the Devil Realm?¡±


    Jiang Zheliu looked at him and said: ¡°I haven¡¯t even left Jingshan Hall once.¡±