BAAF Chapter 76

Zhou Xuanlan’s gaze fell on the jade slip, hearing a soft laugh from the other end. His tightly knit brows relaxed slightly as he faintly curled his lips.

 

“However, I promised to help deliver his message,” though quite unwilling, Zhou Xuanlan still said: “He said he does not regret, but—sorry.”

 

Shen Liuxiang was silent for a moment, put down the jade slip, fell onto the bed and closed his eyes to rest for a while.

 

Unknowingly, a feeling of heat arose within his body.

 

Shen Liuxiang lifted the soft quilt, raised his hand to tug at his collar. His undergarment hung loosely on his body, revealing the fair skin at the back of his neck, which quietly took on a flush of red.

 

Shen Liuxiang opened his eyes, got up and drank a cup of cold tea.

 

Returning to bed, the neither-here-nor-there feeling inside his body became more serious. His thin figure rolled about on the bed. After a moment, he reached out to rub his hair, put on an outer robe, and went out.

 

The Nascent Soul could not withstand the spiritual energy, and the child Gu could not be found, so the method of using a needle dipped in blood would not work.

 

Shen Liuxiang thought back and forth, planning to make a wide wound on the love flower, drop dragon blood into it, letting it soak into the flesh. This way, the child Gu hiding nearby might be intimidated and behave.

 

At this time, the child Gu’s restlessness was still bearable, just right to try this method.

 

Shen Liuxiang knocked on the door. Instantly, the door opened. Zhou Xuanlan was fully dressed, looking as though he had not rested. After hearing the purpose of his visit, he said: “Alright.”

 

Shen Liuxiang didn’t waste words either. He turned around, raised his hand to gather his black hair to the side, exposing the back of his neck to the person behind him.

 

Amidst the snow-white skin, lifelike patterns emerged. The curled flower petals took on a rosy red color in the night.

 

Shen Liuxiang made a hand seal, and a stream of spiritual energy instantly transformed into a blade, piercing through skin and flesh, leaving an extremely deep wound. Bright red blood overflowed in an instant.

 

“Master is truly not gentle with himself.” Zhou Xuanlan lowered his eyelids, cut his fingertip and pressed it on the ghastly wound, using spiritual energy as a medium to let the dragon blood slowly flow into the flesh through the wound.

 

This process was extremely slow, but Shen Liuxiang could feel the heat inside his body gradually subside, and the child Gu calmed down.

 

After finishing, Zhou Xuanlan withdrew his hand, taking out spiritual medicine to apply to the bloody wound before him. “Letting dragon blood penetrate is effective, but it takes too much time. If faced with a situation like last time, it’s not a good strategy.”

 

Shen Liuxiang put on his clothes properly: “It’s fine. If I can’t control myself at that time, just tie me up and do this again.”

 

Although it works slowly and the process is difficult to endure, it is still a solution.

 

The heavy stone in Shen Liuxiang’s heart lightened somewhat. He glanced at the sky, estimating that he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he returned to his room, so he went back to Juanyun Pavilion. The Sword Sect disciples were building a teleportation array without rest through the night. Looking at the progress, it would be completed in two or three hours.

 

Shen Liuxiang joined them, and by dawn, the teleportation array, surrounded by spirit stones, shone brilliantly.

 

The Sword Sect disciples were eager, wishing to step into the teleportation array immediately. Ye Bingran had not closed his eyes for several nights; there were traces of blood in his eyes, but he showed no signs of fatigue. His hair ornament was neat, his belt tightly fastened, and his figure, honed by years of sword practice, was tall and straight.

 

Before entering the teleportation array, Ye Bingran reminded: “You are not a demon. If you stay in the demon realm for too long, your cultivation will be affected.”

 

Shen Liuxiang nodded: “I have important matters to attend to. Once completed, I will leave.”

 

Ye Bingran: “Will you return to the immortal cultivation world?”

 

Shen Liuxiang was slightly stunned, then smiled: “Of course.”

 

Qingling Sect was his first home since coming here. He felt particularly fond of it, especially with his senior brother there, as well as Linghua and others. Of course, he would return.

 

The corner of Ye Bingran’s lips revealed a faint smile, seeming somewhat pleased, but after realizing he was smiling, his expression quickly returned to calm as he turned and stepped into the teleportation array.

 

With a flash of light and shadow, the Sword Sect people disappeared, leaving only shattered spirit stones on the ground.

 

Just as Shen Liuxiang was about to leave, a strong wind arose in this area, and dark, heavy clouds suddenly covered the sky.

 

“Great demon!”

 

Jin Xiaojiu, standing nearby, turned pale, quite frightened.

 

The next moment, amid rolling thunder, a round figure emerged from the dark clouds, with two gray wings flapping vigorously to support the fat body below.

 

“Evil Ghost Immortal Lord!” Ao Yue shouted excitedly.

 

He had flown from the Eight Wildernesses[mfn]Literal meaning: 八 (Ba): Eight, 荒 (Huang): Wilderness, barren land, or frontier region

 

Literally, “八荒” translates to “Eight Wildernesses” or “Eight Frontiers.”

 

In traditional Chinese cosmology, these eight regions represent the entire world divided by the eight cardinal directions: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest[/mfn] to Qilin City, enduring countless hardships along the way. Disheveled and dirty, he finally spotted human figures. Taking a breath in midair, his wings flapped “puchi,” “puchi,” making sounds of being severely overburdened.

 

Then, dragging his plump body, he flew toward the person he had just called “Evil Ghost Immortal Lord.”

 

Shen Liuxiang widened his eyes, only then realizing it wasn’t a pig flying in the sky.

 

“Plop!”

 

Exhausted, Ao Yue fell to the ground, rolling like a ball to Shen Liuxiang’s feet.

 

Shen Liuxiang bent down, picked him up and weighed him in his hand, finding him incredibly heavy. He hesitated before speaking: “After seven years apart, your heroic appearance… is rather unfortunate.”

 

Ao Yue lay like a dead dog, not wanting to move at all.

 

Shen Liuxiang had someone bring a bowl of water and held it to his mouth. Ao Yue drank a few sips, the cool water flowing down his throat, and finally caught his breath: “Where’s Zhou Xuanlan? I—I’ve come to settle accounts with him!”

 

At the crucial moment when Ling Ye arrived to kill, Zhou Xuanlan had actually turned and stepped into the void. Ao Yue’s jaw had dropped in shock. After recovering from the miraculous spell, he suddenly realized what had happened and stiffly turned to look at Ling Ye.

 

Ao Yue had let out a mournful howl on the spot, reverted to his original form, and fled without looking back. He thought he would meet a terrible fate, but unexpectedly arrived safely at Qilin City.

 

After resting for a while, Ao Yue rolled over onto his back. The wind blew through his light gray fur, and his stomach growled loudly.

 

He allowed Shen Liuxiang to massage his head without resistance. The dignity he had possessed as a Celestial Dog years ago had completely vanished as he shouted: “Evil Ghost Immortal Lord, where is there food? Quickly take me to see!”

 

Shen Liuxiang thought for a moment: “Tianxiang Tower has plenty of delicious food.”

 

Ao Yue’s eyes immediately lit up, and he swallowed his saliva. He trusted the Evil Ghost Immortal Lord’s taste, so he eagerly stood up and shook his plump body.

 

His form grew several times larger: “Get on my back.”

 

As Shen Liuxiang jumped onto his back, Ao Yue soared into the sky, disappearing into the clouds in the blink of an eye.

 

With his hair blown into disarray by the wind, Shen Liuxiang narrowed his phoenix eyes, looking at the vast white clouds surrounding them and the endless mountain ranges. Several lines of dismay appeared across his forehead.

 

“Where is this?”

 

“…I couldn’t control it, flew too far.” Ao Yue gave a dry laugh as he returned the way they came.

 

In the distance, on a mountain peak, a figure suddenly appeared.

 

The man wore a green robe with a scroll hanging at his waist. His face was as gentle and smooth as jade, his gaze as calm as water, the corners of his lips perpetually curved in a faint smile. Looking at him felt like basking in a spring breeze, making one want to draw closer.

 

Behind him, pine trees rustled in the wind. Ling Ye extended his divine consciousness toward the young man on the Celestial Dog’s back, a hint of amusement appearing in his eyes.

 

He seemed to be unharmed.

 

Ling Ye had come to the Eight Wildernesses not for Zhou Xuanlan, but since his opponent had appeared, he wouldn’t miss the opportunity.

 

However, when he saw Zhou Xuanlan’s expression change instantly, he vaguely guessed that something had happened to Shen Liuxiang, so he let him go without stopping him.

 

He had followed the Celestial Dog, letting it lead the way, before catching up.

 

Seeing that Shen Liuxiang looked fine without any unusual signs, Ling Ye swept his sleeve and vanished.

 

He had important matters to attend to; after handling them, he would come back to take Shen Liuxiang back to the sect.

 

At Tianxiang Tower, Ao Yue stared at the table full of delicacies, his nose twitching excitedly, tears almost falling from his eyes. “I thought I’d never eat these things again. That senior brother of yours is too terrifying—keeping a low profile, yet with cultivation beyond measure.”

 

Shen Liuxiang was stunned for a moment, then realized.

 

So the person Zhou Xuanlan had mentioned was Ling Ye. “Did he specifically come to the Eight Wilderness to kill Zhou Xuanlan?”

 

“I thought so,” the Celestial Dog picked up a chicken leg first and took a bite, smacking his lips. “But after Zhou Xuanlan returned, I realized something was wrong. Ling Ye seemed to be looking for something in the Eight Wilderness, though after seeing Zhou Xuanlan, he temporarily changed his target.”

 

Shen Liuxiang frowned slightly. The Celestial Dog tossed aside a bone and asked: “You mentioned going to the Demon Capital earlier, when will you go?”

 

Shen Liuxiang raised an eyebrow: “Tomorrow.”

 

The Demon Capital was the most prosperous city in the demon realm, the territory of the Great Demon King. Recently, it had been especially lively as news that the demon princess Yao Mengyue was getting married had spread throughout the demon realm, with many people going to offer congratulations.

 

Shen Liuxiang was already planning to go there to search for a scroll, and this event happened to coincide.

 

Ao Yue said: “Excellent, I want to go too, to see who is worthy of marrying our demon realm princess.”

 

When he was young, he had been injured and saved by Yao Mengyue. He had always remembered this kindness. Hearing that Yao Mengyue wasn’t marrying willingly but was being forced, he immediately decided to go to the Demon Capital.

 

“If she’s unwilling, I’ll secretly take her away right under the Great Demon King’s nose!”

 

Shen Liuxiang touched his chin, “I might have to do that too.”

 

“Why would you do that?” Ao Yue pondered, then his eyes widened, “This, this… don’t tell me you like the princess! You’ll get her killed!!”

 

“Huh?” Shen Liuxiang was momentarily confused: “It’s not that I like her.”

 

Ao Yue breathed a sigh of relief, picking up a braised pork knuckle and taking a bite to calm himself. “That’s good then.”

 

At dusk, Shen Liuxiang finally left Tianxiang Tower, his face incredulous as he carried a dog who had eaten so much it couldn’t move, slowly walking toward the residence.

 

Zhou Xuanlan was still discussing matters in the study. Since he was going to the Demon Capital too, he needed to hand over all affairs here to his subordinates, making him especially busy at this time.

 

Shen Liuxiang thought for a moment and decided not to disturb him, leaving Ao Yue outside the study.

 

He went straight back to the courtyard, found clothing in his storage pouch, and went directly to the bath. Having not slept well the night before, he planned to rest early after bathing.

 

Shen Liuxiang hung his clothes on the folding screen, took off his storage pouch and placed it at the edge, then turned and entered the bath. White mist enveloped his body as he removed his wet clothes and placed them by the edge.

 

The pool water was warm, with fragrant dried spirit herbs floating on the surface.

 

Shen Liuxiang’s entire body was wrapped in warmth. After staying in the water for a while, he naturally grew drowsy. He yawned and was about to get up when suddenly a burning sensation arose within his body.

 

Shen Liuxiang was startled, his body becoming somewhat weak. His hand rose from under the water with a splash as he looked hazily at the folding screen, using a hand sign to summon his inner garment.

 

Standing in the water, he first put on his inner garment, but when tying the sash, his slender, pale fingers trembled slightly.

 

A hint of redness extended from the back of his neck.

 

Shen Liuxiang pressed one hand against the edge, the corners of his eyes unconsciously turning red. He bit his lip tightly as his water-covered hand barely reached the storage pouch.

 

After fumbling in the pouch for a while, he finally grabbed something.

 

Shen Liuxiang took a shallow breath, several strands of wet dark hair sticking to his pale cheeks. With slightly tense fingers, he input a bit of spiritual energy into the jade slip.

 

A blue-green light flashed.

 

With a slightly hoarse voice, he said to the jade slip: “I’m in the bathroom… can you come quickly?”

 

The child Gu was extremely restless. His whole body felt weak, his consciousness somewhat scattered. Between his teeth, he involuntarily let out a soft moan. His voice trembling, he called out to his only lifeline: “Zhou Xuanlan…”

 

The other end of the jade slip fell into a long silence, so long that even the dazed Shen Liuxiang noticed something was amiss.

 

He shook his head, wet black hair sticking to his back, his gaze slightly focusing as he stared at the jade slip, about to speak again.

 

Suddenly: “Bang–!”

 

The jade slip fell to the ground, its blue-green light immediately darkening.

 

There was a boom in Shen Liuxiang’s mind as he saw the character “Di” (Emperor) on the jade slip. His foggy consciousness became somewhat clearer from the shock.

 

He paused for a moment, having thoughts of sinking into the bath and never emerging.

 

But the heat within his body grew increasingly severe. With reddened eyes, Shen Liuxiang fumbled in the storage pouch again and found another jade slip.

 

Light flashed across it, and a low, steady voice drifted out: “What’s wrong, Master?”

 

Shen Liuxiang looked at the other jade slip on the ground, seeing it light up again and slowly float into the air. His voice immediately became filled with indescribable sorrow.

 

“Hurry and come to the bathroom to collect my corpse… no, that’s not right, to collect both our corpses.”

 

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