BAAF Chapter 78

When Shen Liuxiang woke up, he was lying on a bed. With a glance, he discovered familiar surroundings and let down his guard, his whole body relaxing involuntarily.

 

But with this relaxation, he noticed something unusual—his entire body was severely sore and painful.

 

Shen Liuxiang touched his fair nape, which had two purplish marks. With just a slight pressure from his fingertips, he bit his lip in pain.

 

Shen Liuxiang rubbed his brow, and suddenly the tips of his ears flushed red.

 

He remembered now, these were marks left when Zhou Xuanlan had encircled him from behind and bit his nape.

 

Besides his nape, Zhou Xuanlan had also gripped his waist, pressed him against the cold, rigid pool wall, their lips and tongues intertwining, and then…

 

Shen Liuxiang couldn’t quite remember clearly.

 

But thinking of what might have happened afterwards, his black eyelashes trembled slightly, and his expression became tense.

 

Shen Liuxiang pressed his chest, patting it gently as if to reassure himself, then stretched one hand beneath the quilt, making tentative movements.

 

His phoenix eyes showed confusion, and soon after, his handsome face revealed panic.

 

He lowered his head, abruptly lifting the soft quilt, looking at the snow-white undergarments he was wearing. With trembling fingertips, he applied a bit more force and pinched his waist again.

 

In an instant, his slender waist weakened, feeling both sore and painful, causing his entire body to involuntarily tremble.

 

Shen Liuxiang’s pupils contracted sharply.

 

This, this is—?! Could it be that he and Zhou Xuanlan—?!

 

Shen Liuxiang’s fair face visibly reddened. He fell back onto the bed, pulled up the quilt to cover himself, and without hesitation buried his head underneath, trying to calm down.

 

At that moment, a familiar voice unexpectedly sounded from beside him.

 

Full of confusion and somewhat speechless: “What are you doing?”

 

Shen Liuxiang froze, suddenly looking toward the bedside. The purple-gold crown of the person there made him squint his eyes. After a moment, he exclaimed in surprise: “Why are you here?!”

 

Xu Xingchen widened his eyes: “What tone is that! If not for Imperial Father’s instructions, I wouldn’t be looking after you!”

 

The night was dark as ink, with cool breezes flowing through the open window into the room.

 

Xu Xingchen walked to the window unhappily, shutting it with a “bang.” He turned to pour a cup of hot tea, returned to the bedside, and looked at the dazed young man on the bed.

 

Having just awakened, Shen Liuxiang’s behavior was strangely puzzling—touching his nape, pinching his waist, his cheeks turning as red as tomatoes.

 

Especially since Xu Xingchen was right beside him, yet Shen Liuxiang had completely ignored him!

 

“Drink some water, clear your head a bit.”

 

Shen Liuxiang blinked, took the teacup, looked around, and belatedly realized this was his bedroom in the Imperial Palace. He took a sip to moisten his throat: “Why am I here?”

 

Xu Xingchen: “Imperial Father personally went to the demon realm and brought you all back.”

 

Shen Liuxiang recalled the jade slip communication, embarrassment appearing on his face. Noticing the words “you all,” he lowered his gaze to look at himself, his cheeks burning. “Where is Zhou Xuanlan?”

 

His waist was somewhat sore and painful, which seemed abnormal no matter how he looked at it.

 

In his fragmented memories, there were scenes of him embracing Zhou Xuanlan, kissing and nibbling. After much thought, Shen Liuxiang could only conclude that, consumed by burning desire, he had taken advantage of his cultivation to do this and that to Zhou Xuanlan, and somehow ended up being done that and this to instead.

 

Shen Liuxiang scratched his dark hair, his cheeks flushed, expression helpless.

 

Xu Xingchen finally couldn’t resist reaching out to touch his forehead. “Have you gone stupid, or is there some undiscovered injury? You shouldn’t be the one with problems; even Zhou Xuanlan, who lost his heart blood, isn’t like this.”

 

Shen Liuxiang paused, his phoenix eyes suddenly widening.

 

***

 

Di Yunyu had brought both of them back to the Imperial Palace. Zhou Xuanlan had held on for a while before falling unconscious.

 

He had been injured in his battle with Ling Ye, then stepped into the void to rush to Qilin City, broken his dragon horn to break the formation, and used his heart blood to suppress the Love Flower Gu. Despite demons’ strong recuperative abilities, his body couldn’t withstand any more.

 

When Shen Liuxiang arrived, he was lying on a block of cold ice, still unconscious.

 

Shen Liuxiang lowered his gaze and remained silent for a long time.

 

The ice was crystal clear, emitting a thin cold mist, perfectly square. A circle of gentle spiritual energy formed a light ring—it was Zen Spirit Ice.

 

Extremely rare, even a palm-sized piece was a priceless treasure.

 

At this moment, on this Zen Spirit Ice lay a small black dragon, its head slightly tilted, breathing weakly, its dragon scales covered in frost.

 

Its eyes tightly closed, a single lonely dragon horn remaining on its head.

 

Shen Liuxiang’s heart quivered slightly as he stepped forward, raising his hand to gently touch the solitary horn. The hard texture and complex patterns of the dragon horn passed under his fingertips.

 

A strange feeling welled up in Shen Liuxiang’s heart, a sense of déjà vu.

 

All around was silence. He stared at the small black dragon for a long time before murmuring: “Was it worth it?”

 

In the original story, during the great war of the three realms, Zhou Xuanlan had single-handedly saved the cultivation world, repelling the unstoppable demon realm. Afterward, the devil realm submitted, the demon realm surrendered, and thousands revered him, calling him Lord Xuan, meaning the Lord of the Three Realms.

 

Shen Liuxiang had thought he knew him thoroughly, but after coming here, he discovered that the great villain black dragon, who had never appeared in the original story, was actually also him.

 

Looking at it this way, the original story was inconsistent everywhere.

 

And the Zhou Xuanlan before him was neither Lord Xuan nor the great villain, merely his disciple.

 

A small black dragon that made his heart skip a beat.

 

Footsteps sounded from behind. Shen Liuxiang turned his head to see Di Yunyu, whose robes were embroidered with fire phoenixes and whose golden crown gleamed brilliantly.

 

Di Yunyu glanced at the black shadow on the Zen Spirit Ice, then his gaze shifted to Shen Liuxiang. Perhaps seeing something in his expression, he frowned and said, “He’s only injured. His true form will recover more quickly. Come with me.”

 

On the top floor of the Archive Tower, Di Yunyu took out a scroll and handed it to Shen Liuxiang: “Read this first.”

 

Shen Liuxiang accepted it with confusion, opening it and scanning ten lines at a glance. Half an incense stick’s time later, his expression was unfathomable. He closed the scroll and asked, “What does Imperial Father want to say?”

 

The scroll recorded a catastrophe from four hundred years ago, when demonic beasts descended upon the world.

 

Compared to rumors circulating outside, this record was particularly detailed. Four great demonic beasts emerged from the Eastern Wilderness, throwing the three realms into chaos. However, something else had remained in the Eastern Wilderness—a completely black object with flashing golden patterns that emitted a terrifying pressure from the primordial era.

 

“Unknown to the world, a dragon egg appeared alongside the demonic beasts,”

 

Di Yunyu clasped his hands behind his back. “Obviously, it was Zhou Xuanlan.”

 

Shen Liuxiang: “So what if it was? He isn’t a merciless, evil demonic beast and has never harmed the world.”

 

Di Yunyu’s tone deepened slightly: “But like those demonic beasts, he is a being from the ancient primordial period who should have gone extinct tens of thousands of years ago. Yet through some unknown coincidence, he appeared in the world only a hundred years ago.”

 

Shen Liuxiang gripped the scroll tightly: “Imperial Father means to say he shouldn’t have appeared.”

 

Di Yunyu: “As a dragon who could dominate even during the primordial period, given time, his cultivation will certainly become unstoppable. When that happens, the entire continent would fall into his hands, with the life and death of all beings determined by him. The Heavenly Way would not allow such a thing to happen and would certainly execute him, nipping the threat in the bud.”

 

Shen Liuxiang frowned in deep thought, then after a moment looked at him: “What about Imperial Father?”

 

He didn’t know how the Heavenly Way planned to kill Zhou Xuanlan, but currently, only Di Yunyu had that ability.

 

Several hundred years ago, he had already killed Chaos Taowu and sealed Qiongqi and Taotie. His cultivation had long transcended the three realms, reaching a terrifying level.

 

Di Yunyu’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Shen Liuxiang blink his phoenix eyes, forcing out a few tears while gesturing with his hand.

 

“My disciple’s original form is only this big—weak, pitiful, and could be killed with a single slap. With Imperial Father’s divine power, you surely wouldn’t bother with such a small black dragon.”

 

“In dragon years, my disciple may not even be an adult yet,”

 

Shen Liuxiang raised his hand, his slender white fingers grabbing Di Yunyu’s sleeve and shaking it. “Imperial Father is magnanimous and righteous, surely you wouldn’t bully a dragon cub, right?”

 

Di Yunyu: “…”

 

He lowered his gaze, looking at the young man who dared to grab his sleeve and shake it incessantly. After a long silence, he said in a rigid tone: “Let go.”

 

Shen Liuxiang immediately released his hand but whispered a reminder: “Imperial Father, you still haven’t answered whether you will or not.”

 

After speaking, Shen Liuxiang clutched his chest, his face turning red as he deliberately coughed twice. “Imperial Father, be careful with your words. Your son has been unwell lately and can only accept affirmative answers like ‘yes’ or ‘indeed.’ I cannot bear to hear any negation!”

 

Di Yunyu: “…”

 

Using the worst acting skills of his life, Shen Liuxiang pushed Di Yunyu to the point where he raised his hand toward his head, his slender finger flicking his forehead in exasperation.

 

This flick hurt Shen Liuxiang enough to redden his eyes and bring tears to them.

 

Di Yunyu looked at him: “That’s more like it. If you’re going to cry, do it properly.”

 

Shen Liuxiang widened his eyes in disbelief, then heard Di Yunyu continue: “Weeping uncontrollably in front of me would be even more effective.”

 

Shen Liuxiang: “???”

 

Was that even human language?!

 

With his lips twitching slightly, Shen Liuxiang slammed the scroll down on the desk with a “thud” and left, gritting his teeth in anger.

 

Di Yunyu, with his light-colored eyes open, watched the angry figure disappear before letting out a soft laugh. He unhurriedly picked up the scroll and returned it to its place.

 

Walking out of the Archive Tower, Shen Liuxiang looked back.

 

Since Di Yunyu had provided the Zen Spirit Ice, at least for now, he had no intention of killing Zhou Xuanlan. But what Shen Liuxiang worried about was the future, so he wanted to probe Di Yunyu’s attitude, but the result…

 

“Even a thousand-year-old fox wouldn’t be so cunning!”

 

Shen Liuxiang muttered toward the tower before turning to go back and check on his disciple. However, halfway there, he stopped at a fork in the path.

 

He turned his head, staring at “The Three-Life Stone” inscribed on a worn wooden board. After hesitating for a moment and looking around to ensure no one was nearby, he silently followed the small path into the forest.

 

The Three-Life Stone was an item for testing romantic destiny. There were only three in the world, located in the Imperial Palace, Qingling Sect, and the Demon Capital.

 

Shen Liuxiang had known about this thing before; he’d heard that it contained the power of the Heavenly Way and could reveal one’s destined person. Previously, he hadn’t been interested, but today he couldn’t help stopping and walking toward the Three-Life Stone.

 

He had questions in his heart.

 

In the center of a clear spring stood a black stone.

 

Shen Liuxiang approached and pressed his hand against the stone. Instantly, a ray of light enveloped him.

 

As the light dispersed, Shen Liuxiang blinked, his eyes showing some expectation mixed with nervousness as he stared intently at the Three-Life Stone.

 

A line of characters fully appeared.

 

Ye Bingran—

 

On the Three-Life Stone, what appeared was Ye Bingran.

 

According to the will of the Heavenly Way, his destined person was Ye Bingran!

 

Shen Liuxiang paused for a moment, then withdrew his hand.

 

Suddenly, he curled up one corner of his lips, his handsome face breaking into a radiant smile.

 

It didn’t matter who it was.

 

The moment his palm pressed against the black stone, a name had already risen in his heart.

 

Shen Liuxiang laughed softly, raised his hand, and patted the Three-Life Stone.

 

“Thanks, even though you’re not accurate.”

 

Who was inscribed on the Three-Life Stone didn’t matter. What mattered was who was in his heart.

 

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