Immortal Lord Shen had pursued Ye Bingran for ten years, a fact well-known throughout the cultivation world. As the disciple of the person involved, Zhou Xuanlan knew even more.
At that time, they were only master and disciple in title, with meetings that could be counted on one’s fingers. Zhou Xuanlan had no particular feelings about this matter. But now, with just a brief recollection, his heart was filled with irritation. Combined with the Three-Life Stone adding fuel to the fire, murderous intent was about to overflow.
This wasn’t just testing his bottom line; it was soaring over it with wings spread…
Zhou Xuanlan adjusted himself for a long time. Seeing Shen Liuxiang’s “we agreed not to mind” expression, he dryly said he didn’t mind. Finally, in a non-sequitur, he added: “Master wrote many letters.”
Shen Liuxiang paused, then realized: “I’ll write to you in the future too.”
The original body had written them, and he didn’t know what was inside. Only Zhou Xuanlan had seen those letters, which probably contained cloying sweet talk about “heart blood” and “pure moonlight.”
Zhou Xuanlan said: “I don’t want letters.”
Shen Liuxiang raised an eyebrow: “Then what do you want?” Gifts? His entire fortune? His current fortune was more than just a spirit stone now.
Zhou Xuanlan’s black eyes stared directly at him, his thin lips curving slightly, his voice deep: “I want the person.”
Shen Liuxiang’s dark eyelashes trembled. At this moment, a cry of exasperation sounded from the side: “I’m going to tell Imperial Father!”
Xu Xingchen shouted unhappily: “You two are so annoying.”
He didn’t know why, but watching the two of them talk in front of him, saying such ambiguous things, irritated him deeply. He wanted to push them apart, one to the east and one to the west, to prevent them from huddling together, chattering away, and forgetting that he was still present as a living person.
“The Three-Life Stone is extremely accurate. Believe it or not, it’s up to you!” Xu Xingchen raised his hand and patted the stone. In his emotional state, he accidentally released a bit of spiritual energy onto it.
A flash of light, and a line of characters appeared on the stone’s surface.
Xu Xingchen’s memory was still fresh. Seeing the inscribed characters, he
was stunned for a moment, looked again, and slowly withdrew his hand, raising a puzzled tone: “Huh? Is the Three-Life Stone broken?”
Why was it still showing Su Baiche? Wasn’t that Zhou Xuanlan’s? Where was his?
Shen Liuxiang moved closer, letting out a sigh as he pointed to the string of characters after “Su Baiche,” laughing loudly: “This is your destined love—like seeking the moon in water, desiring but not obtaining. Hahaha!”
Xu Xingchen rubbed his eyes and looked carefully at the string of characters after the name, which indeed differed from Zhou Xuanlan’s.
After a brief moment of stupefaction, Xu Xingchen exploded, viciously kicking the Three-Life Stone. “Who is Su Baiche? Why must I seek the moon in water, desiring but not obtaining? You stupid stone, speak up!”
Hearing Shen Liuxiang’s undisguised mockery, Xu Xingchen’s face reddened with anger. It was bad enough that some random name appeared, but why did it say he was in unrequited love? Meanwhile, Zhou Xuanlan’s read something like “heavenly union” or “divine couple.”
Thinking about it this way, it meant that this person chose Zhou Xuanlan over him… What poor taste this stone and person had! What did he, Xu Xingchen, lack?!
Xu Xingchen glared at the person whose gaze was fixed on the stone, furiously asking: “What does yours say? ‘Destined match’? Are you bribing the Three-Life Stone?!”
The laughter stopped abruptly as Shen Liuxiang narrowed his phoenix eyes.
Zhou Xuanlan, still deep in thought, noticed Shen Liuxiang’s expressionless face and hurriedly said: “This is not what this disciple wishes. There must be something wrong with the Three-Life Stone. Master, give me some time, and I will investigate thoroughly.”
“It’s fine,” Shen Liuxiang said impassively, pausing before continuing. “Mine says ‘pledging life, not resting until death.'”
As his words fell, Zhou Xuanlan’s face darkened.
A cold wind blew through the forest, and the atmosphere became extremely tense.
After a moment, the three looked at each other awkwardly, and several footprints had appeared on the Three-Life Stone.
“It’s fake.”
“I won’t let it come true.”
“Stupid stone, randomly pairing people up.”
…
After leaving the Three-Life Stone, Xu Xingchen headed straight for the Archive Tower. Seeing that both of them knew who Su Baiche was, he also wanted to know what kind of creature lacked the discernment to choose Zhou Xuanlan over him.
Hmph, not choosing him. He was the Young Lord of the Imperial Palace; with a wave of his hand, anyone would willingly come to him. Since when had he fallen to the point of being selected by others?
Shen Liuxiang raised an eyebrow, seeing his dejected face. He told Zhou Xuanlan something and then followed after Xu Xingchen.
In the original story, Xu Xingchen, who became Emperor Di, ordered the execution of Shen Liuxiang. But his subordinates captured the wrong person, bringing Su Baiche instead. Emperor Di fell in love at first sight. Initially, he treated Su Baiche with elegance and courtesy, but after capturing him back to the Imperial Palace three or four times, he abandoned his imperial dignity and, ignoring everyone’s advice, tried to force himself on Su Baiche.
This action not only failed but also caused a huge uproar in the three realms. The sacred image of the Imperial Palace, accumulated over thousands of years, collapsed instantly.
Everyone denounced Emperor Di.
So when Zhou Xuanlan destroyed this sacred place, he had just cause and public support.
Shen Liuxiang was worried. If Xu Xingchen fell for Su Baiche again, trouble would brew. Even without Zhou Xuanlan, there were still many male protagonists waiting. With Xu Xingchen’s naive methods, how could he compete with them?
In the Archive Tower, there were records of all the people in the three realms kept by the Imperial Tutor. Just as Xu Xingchen was instructing someone to find information about Su Baiche, he sneezed.
Turning around, he looked warily at the person beside him: “Why aren’t you with your disciple? Why follow me?”
Shen Liuxiang: “He’s not a child who needs constant company.”
Zhou Xuanlan had been suddenly brought to the Imperial Palace, with matters in Qilin City still unresolved. With some free time, he needed to handle those affairs. Shen Liuxiang also had matters to attend to. He glanced around, asking someone to find him some books about ascension, then sat down next to Xu Xingchen, pouring tea while keeping an eye on him.
If Xu Xingchen fell in love with Su Baiche at first sight, he would beat some sense into him.
After Shen Liuxiang left, Zhou Xuanlan placed his hand on the Three-Life Stone, closed his eyes, and channeled his spiritual energy, sensing the vast spiritual energy contained within the stone. He frowned slightly.
At this moment, a figure appeared at the path.
Zhou Xuanlan turned his head, withdrew his hand, lowered his eyes, and bowed: “Emperor.”
Di Yunyu stood with his hands behind his back, glancing at the black stone in the water. Without commenting on it, he said: “Besides you, there are eight other demon kings. Why did you choose to move against Wenren Qin?”
Zhou Xuanlan’s expression changed slightly. After a moment, he replied: “He had the most vulnerabilities.”
He had been watching Wenren Qin for a long time, secretly investigating. The Imperial Palace’s intervention because of the scroll was unexpected, but it only accelerated Wenren Qin’s downfall.
Di Yunyu frowned: “If I hadn’t taken away the half-demon, how would you have dealt with him?”
Zhou Xuanlan: “He would have submitted.”
Di Yunyu: “And if he hadn’t, what then?”
Zhou Xuanlan smiled faintly: “With Master present, even if the process would be more difficult, the result wouldn’t differ much from what Your Majesty achieved.”
Di Yunyu paused, uttering “Shen Liuxiang” with some effort, his expression softening slightly, the corner of his lips curving upward. “He still has a long way to go.”
Zhou Xuanlan made no comment. Di Yunyu glanced at him and said calmly: “The various demon kings maintain a balance of power, keeping the demon realm stable. You starting with Wenren Qin, incorporating his territory—your ambition is not small. Do you intend to unify the demon realm?”
The wind blew stronger, and the rustling of leaves could be heard throughout the forest.
Zhou Xuanlan: “It’s not ambition. I have no intention of starting conflicts; I’m merely doing what I must.”
Di Yunyu: “Why?”
Zhou Xuanlan, with his black eyes open, curved his lips into a half-smile and said: “Your Majesty stands outside the three realms and has not entered the world. Perhaps you believe that the current situation among the cultivation realm, devil realm, and demon realm is appropriate. But being within it… I don’t like it.”
In his youth at Qingling Sect, he had been a genuine disciple of an immortal sect. It would be a lie to say he had no sense of belonging to the sect or the cultivation world. But after his demon race identity was exposed, everything changed.
He had never done anything harmful, yet merely because of his demon identity, he faced execution, forcing him to leave the cultivation world. In the demon realm, he witnessed cultivators who exposed their identities being attacked by mobs, leaving no remains.
Both realms were too extreme, and Zhou Xuanlan disliked it.
He didn’t want Shen Liuxiang to hide and conceal his identity in the demon realm, nor did he want a future where he couldn’t accompany Shen Liuxiang when he returned to the cultivation world.
So he had to start from the demon realm to change the current structure.
Di Yunyu suddenly realized: “You want to merge the three realms?”
Di Yunyu had never had such thoughts. Even with supreme cultivation, he wouldn’t interfere in matters between the three realms, only letting them follow their natural course—except for several hundred years ago when he was forced to act to subdue the demonic beasts.
He observed that Zhou Xuanlan’s every action was filled with vibrant ambition, but he hadn’t expected that these were his intentions.
For a moment, beyond surprise, he became interested.
He stroked his chin, pondering for a long time before commenting: “Difficult. You’re still a young dragon, too inexperienced. Your cultivation level is too low. Those in the three realms whose cultivation exceeds yours—I can’t count them on one hand.”
Zhou Xuanlan was stunned: “I’m an adult dragon.”
Di Yunyu: “Is that so?”
Zhou Xuanlan nodded firmly, emphasizing: “I am an adult dragon.”
His early memories were lost, and he had arrived at Qingling Sect in a daze, but in recent years, memories of being in the dragon egg had gradually awakened. According to age, he was indeed an adult dragon.
Di Yunyu didn’t care whether he was an adult or not; the emphasis of his previous words was on the latter part. But seeing Zhou Xuanlan’s serious attempt to explain, he nodded slightly and simply said: “I understand.”
Zhou Xuanlan swallowed his words.
It was fine if Di Yunyu thought this, but if he told Master and he truly believed he was a little dragon, wouldn’t that be…
“This is for you,” Di Yunyu opened his palm, his slender fingers holding a clean sheet of paper.
Zhou Xuanlan’s expression changed as he accepted the note Shen Liuxiang had written in the confinement room. His fingers unfolded it, his gaze falling on the line of text and drawings. His thin lips curved slightly as he examined it over and over again.
He folded the paper and carefully tucked it into his robe, then said: “There’s one more thing I’d like to ask of Your Majesty.”
Di Yunyu: “What is it?”
Zhou Xuanlan released his Nascent Soul.
***
In the Archive Tower, Shen Liuxiang was holding several books, flipping through them while the person beside him kept occasionally nudging him.
“Oh, so Su Baiche is an elder at Qingling Sect. No wonder you know him.”
“Eh? Why did you bully him?”
“Pfft, you were actually jealous that Ye Bingran liked him, hahaha—”
Shen Liuxiang’s lips twitched slightly, thinking himself a fool for sitting here listening to Xu Xingchen’s mockery.
Xu Xingchen continued to bring up old, irrelevant matters: “You liked Ye Bingran, but he didn’t like you?”
He paused, utterly puzzled: “Why?”
Shen Liuxiang glanced at him: “I’m not a spirit stone, beloved by all.”
Xu Xingchen: “But I think…”
Shen Liuxiang rubbed his brow, abruptly turning Xu Xingchen’s face away from him. “Weren’t you trying to learn about Su Baiche? Why are you fixated on my mess? Keep reading.”
Xu Xingchen’s gaze returned to the book. Before long, he frowned.
The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off. His expression gradually became serious as he closed the book, interrupting Shen Liuxiang’s reading.
Meeting the puzzled gaze, he said earnestly: “This Su Baiche is problematic.”
Shen Liuxiang thought to himself, “Of course.” After all, he was the designated heartthrob in the original story. Looking at Xu Xingchen’s expression, could it be that he had keenly discovered something?
“Explain.”
Xu Xingchen analyzed methodically: “Listen, on the Three-Life Stone, your destined one is Ye Bingran, and you also like him, but…”
Shen Liuxiang: “Not me, the me from back then.”
Xu Xingchen glared at him, unwilling to argue this point, and continued: “Anyway, your destined one Ye Bingran doesn’t like you, but likes Su Baiche. Perhaps his destined one is also Su Baiche. If that’s the case…”
“Your destined one is Ye Bingran, and the person you like is Zhou Xuanlan,” Xu Xingchen pointed to himself, saying seriously: “And even your half-brother’s destined one is Su Baiche. Don’t you find that strange?”
Shen Liuxiang rested his chin on his hand, expectantly asking: “What’s your esteemed opinion?”
Xu Xingchen slammed the book onto the table: “Obviously, his fortune is incompatible with yours!”
Shen Liuxiang: “Huh?”
Such fierce analysis, and that was the conclusion.
“He’s destined to clash with you,” Xu Xingchen advised: “You should be careful of him in the future.”
Shen Liuxiang: “Oh! Alright!”
Xu Xingchen saw his verbal agreement but the indifferent expression on his face. Exasperated, he huffed angrily and was about to leave.
Shen Liuxiang quickly held him back, picked up the book from the table, and opened to a page with Su Baiche’s portrait.
In the painting, the beauty wore a white robe, with a fair and delicate face, quite beautiful.
He held it before Xu Xingchen’s eyes: “Look, do you like someone like this?” In the original story, it was love at first sight. Though this wasn’t the real person, some impression could be gained from the portrait.
Xu Xingchen’s brows deeply furrowed as he pushed it away and stepped back, his tone hardening.
“Take it away.”
Seeing him avoid it like a snake or scorpion, showing not the slightest hint of liking but rather a trace of disgust, Shen Liuxiang felt puzzled: “What’s wrong with you?”
Disliking something was one thing, but displaying aversion at a single glance was another.
Xu Xingchen snorted: “Anyway, I don’t like him, and I never will.”
Shen Liuxiang was surprised: “Such certainty, why?”
Xu Xingchen glanced at him, pouting: “If in the future, it really turns out as inscribed on the Three-Life Stone, and I, Zhou Xuanlan, and Ye Bingran all have him as our destined one, and everyone starts liking Su Baiche, then no one will like you anymore.”
Shen Liuxiang was stunned.
Xu Xingchen humphed, placing his hands behind his back, announcing like a savior from on high:
“In that case, I’ll reluctantly persist in liking you.”
“I can’t control Zhou Xuanlan and Ye Bingran, but regardless of when, I’ll naturally be on your side.”
Xu Xingchen raised his hand, extending his thumb, index finger, and middle finger in succession: “In this world now, Imperial Father, Xinglian, and grudgingly adding you… are the most important.”
Shen Liuxiang stood frozen for a long while. After Xu Xingchen finished speaking, he looked up to glance at him.
This glance startled him into a fluster: “Why are your eyes red? Don’t cry, I wasn’t bullying you!”
Shen Liuxiang blinked: “Are they red?”
Xu Xingchen nodded, and Shen Liuxiang clicked his tongue lightly: “It must be because you ranked me third. I’m a bit hurt.”
Xu Xingchen was momentarily speechless. He lowered his head to look at his fingers, reconsidering the rankings. When he looked up again, “Then I’ll put you…”
Before he could finish, the person in front of him had vanished.
Xu Xingchen: “…”
Kicked out, even the third position was gone!
Shen Liuxiang, carrying several books, glanced back when leaving the Archive Tower, his lips curving slightly. Remembering the urgent matter, he quickly headed to Lao Jiu’s water nest.
A golden turtle swam over from the other side. Shen Liuxiang stood at the shore, grabbed a handful of dried small fish to feed him, exchanged pleasantries, and then said directly: “I have something to ask you.”
Lao Jiu had lived for a long time, always staying on Mount Shengqi. It was said he had watched Di Yunyu grow up.
Lao Jiu chewed the dried fish unhurriedly: “Go ahead.”
Shen Liuxiang glanced around and asked in a low voice: “Do you know when Imperial Father reached the ascension boundary?”
Lao Jiu thought for a long time, then said: “When he came of age.”
Shen Liuxiang: “In that case, why didn’t he ascend at that time?”
Lao Jiu: “He failed.”
Shen Liuxiang: “?!” He had never imagined that Di Yunyu would encounter obstacles in his cultivation.
Lao Jiu raised his head, signaling for another dried fish, and continued: “But he did it deliberately.”
Shen Liuxiang was shocked: “Deliberately?!”
Failing to ascend meant being obliterated under the lightning tribulation—who would deliberately do such a thing!
Lao Jiu smacked his lips and nodded: “The timing was bad. I thought he was going to leave, but unexpectedly, the four great demonic beasts suddenly descended upon the world. It was a catastrophe that shook heaven and earth, with all living beings in the three realms suffering. If he had left, who could have stopped them?”
Shen Liuxiang was stunned: “So he endured tens of thousands of ascension lightning tribulations, survived, and then went to stop the demonic beasts’ rampage.”
Lao Jiu licked his lips and nodded: “But he was exhausted afterward, so he only dealt with three of them, sealing the last one, Qiongqi, instead of killing it.”
Shen Liuxiang: “What about Taotie?”
According to rumors, both Taotie and Qiongqi were sealed, but why did Lao Jiu only mention Qiongqi? Di Yunyu was only looking for Qiongqi’s sealing place—could there be some hidden story?
Lao Jiu tilted his head, pondering for a while, then said: “After the Emperor returned, he told me that Taotie wasn’t dead but was nearly so. He sent it to a secluded place. When I asked why he didn’t kill it but protected it instead, the Emperor said: ‘There are two little Taoties.'”
Shen Liuxiang’s heart surged with shock as he fed dried fish to Lao Jiu while organizing his thoughts.
One by one, he fed so many that Lao Jiu became stuffed, burped, and shook his head, saying: “No more, no more. I’m leaving.”
Halfway through swimming away, he suddenly turned back, belatedly realizing: “I probably shouldn’t have said these things. You should forget them, forget them, and don’t tell the Emperor.”
Lao Jiu disappeared, but Shen Liuxiang remained standing at the shore until footsteps sounded behind him. Hearing someone call “Master,” he turned around.
“You… Imperial Father?!”
Di Yunyu stood nearby. Hearing the extremely shocked voice, his brows moved slightly as he looked at Shen Liuxiang and then at the dried small fish in his hand.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you recognize me?”
Shen Liuxiang shook his head: “I do! I do!”
He looked at Zhou Xuanlan and blinked. Zhou Xuanlan understood and said calmly: “The Emperor came to see Master’s Nascent Soul.”
Shen Liuxiang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had been caught red-handed.
He put down the dried fish, wiped his hands, closed his eyes, and opened his palm. After a moment, an object appeared in his palm.
The small Nascent Soul had a tender white face, blinking bright eyes as it scanned the surroundings. Its gaze fell on the seemingly unfamiliar Di Yunyu, its cheeks slightly puffed.
Then, it whistled cheerfully.
Shen Liuxiang: “???”
He quickly covered the Nascent Soul’s mouth. What are you doing?! Don’t you want to live?! Daring to whistle at the Emperor—he himself would only go as far as playing the erhu!
Di Yunyu stared at the Nascent Soul, reaching out to remove Shen Liuxiang’s hand. The next moment, the cheerful whistling sounded again.
Shen Liuxiang: “…”
Fortunately, at this moment, Zhou Xuanlan released his Nascent Soul. Shen Liuxiang’s Nascent Soul immediately behaved, quickly moving over to embrace the other’s neck affectionately.
Di Yunyu watched the two Nascent Souls clinging together, narrowing his eyes slightly before pressing their heads, one in each hand.
A faint golden light enveloped the Nascent Souls. After a moment, Di Yunyu withdrew his hands and turned to Shen Liuxiang: “Your Nascent Soul has a significant problem.”
Shen Liuxiang: “What did Imperial Father discover?”
Di Yunyu reached out, his slender index finger tapping the small Nascent Soul’s forehead.
Shen Liuxiang instantly felt a light flick on his forehead. Covering it, he heard Di Yunyu say: “Your divine soul is only three years old.”
Shen Liuxiang: “???”
Was his Nascent Soul a little fool?
Shen Liuxiang looked over incredulously, seeing his small Nascent Soul raise its lotus-root-like arms, gripping Di Yunyu’s index finger with both hands and bringing it to its mouth to bite hard.
After much effort, finding it couldn’t bite through—Di Yunyu’s fingertip didn’t even break skin, with only faint teeth marks left—the small Nascent Soul was stunned, seemingly heavily impacted, puffing its snow-white cheeks as tears welled up in its eyes.
It tilted its head, its lips drooping, almost crying from grievance.
Seeing this, Di Yunyu laughed softly without annoyance. His clearly-jointed finger moved closer, lightly brushing away the crystalline tears from the Nascent Soul’s long eyelashes.
His other hand rubbed the small head, comforting it: “Don’t cry.”
Shen Liuxiang: “?!”
Was this the treatment reserved for the imperial family’s foolish son…
Tearfully moving—!
‘
1 Kofi = 1 Extra Chapter
Oh my, my~
Thank You for the new chapter (๑ơ ₃ ơ)♥