BAAF Chapter 106

Shen Liuxiang stopped at the crossroads, releasing his tightly bitten lip, his eyes downcast.

 

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to return. With Father Emperor gone, Xu Xingchen could only stay there all alone, and he wanted to go back. But if he were controlled by Qiongqi, given Qiongqi’s hatred for Di Yunyu, he would target Xu Xingchen and Xu Xinglian, and destroy the Imperial Palace in one fell swoop.

 

How could he go back?

 

Shen Liuxiang looked back. Once Xu Xingchen refined Di Yunyu’s cultivation, presumably no one in the world would be his match, and there would be no need to worry about his and Xinglian’s safety.

 

Withdrawing his gaze, Shen Liuxiang was about to leave when he suddenly saw a figure in white ahead, his hair bound meticulously, standing straight as a pine.

 

It was Ye Bingran.

 

Shen Liuxiang hadn’t expected him to follow, and was slightly stunned, his brow furrowing. “Are you going to be my enemy?”

 

Ye Bingran didn’t answer, but said: “The one who injured Sect Master Ling wasn’t you. That wasn’t your intention; you just couldn’t control the demon beast inside you, isn’t that right?”

 

“What does it matter whether it was or wasn’t?”

 

Shen Liuxiang remembered how the Sword Sect had once imprisoned Zhou Xuanlan in a dark prison, and his face showed disgust.

 

“Now that Qiongqi is in my body, do you want to capture me and lock me up in that place where I can’t see the light of day? Let me tell you—dream on!”

 

“I won’t lock you up,”

 

Ye Bingran’s face was slightly pale as he explained: “I’ve gone through many ancient texts on controlling demon beasts. Although some methods have minimal effects, over time, they will be useful. As for where to stay, if you come with me to the Sword Sect, I naturally wouldn’t keep you in such a place. Finding a quiet place would suffice, where you can cultivate with peace of mind. There will come a day when you can control Qiongqi.”

 

Shen Liuxiang was stunned, speechless.

 

He hadn’t expected Ye Bingran to be so concerned about his affairs. He remembered that their relationship had merely improved from freezing point to a nodding acquaintance, yet he was going to such lengths, showing an exceptionally good heart.

 

Unfortunately, these methods were useless to him. It wouldn’t be long before Qiongqi could possess him and wanted to erase his soul.

 

He couldn’t wait for gradual accumulation over time.

 

“Thank you, but I…”

 

Halfway through his words, Shen Liuxiang felt a pain in his chest, and his face paled.

 

Ye Bingran stepped forward to support him, noticing his body trembling. Looking around, he helped him to a grayish stone.

 

The stone was covered with mud and dust. Ye Bingran wiped it with his sleeve.

 

“Sit for a while.”

 

Shen Liuxiang covered his chest with his hand, his gaze inadvertently falling on the snow-white sleeve now stained with dirt. He was stunned for a moment, then looked up to see a pair of eyes like ice crystals, clear and transparent.

 

Looking closely at these eyes, they weren’t actually cold.

 

Now reflecting the red-clothed youth sitting on the stone, deep in those eyes was something hidden, something he was unwilling to express, but which unconsciously revealed itself.

 

Shen Liuxiang suddenly withdrew his gaze, lowered his eyes, his heart stirring with waves, somewhat in disbelief.

 

He composed himself, withdrew his arm from Ye Bingran’s grasp. “I appreciate your kindness, but that would still be like being confined. I still prefer to be free out in the world, where I can read story books, eat sugar figurines, and can…”

 

“I can buy story books for you,” Ye Bingran blurted out. “As for sugar figurines, I can also go down the mountain every day to buy fresh ones for you.”

 

Shen Liuxiang’s heart sank.

 

Ye Bingran liked him, and he didn’t know when it had started. He hadn’t noticed it at all…

 

“No need,” Shen Liuxiang rose from the stone.

 

“Actually, I don’t really like reading story books that much, or eating sugar figurines that much. I just like having someone read to me, having someone accompany me to eat, that’s all.”

 

Ye Bingran was stunned for a moment, then said: “I can read to you. As for sugar figurines… I’ve never eaten them, but I can accompany you to eat them.”

 

Shen Liuxiang recalled several fragments in his mind, and a trace of impatience rose in his heart. “Someone has been reading story books to me for seven years. I’m only accustomed to his voice, not comfortable with others. Do you understand?”

 

Ye Bingran was silent for a moment, the patience and tenacity of a sword cultivator displayed to the utmost at this moment.

 

“Seven years for a cultivator is but a snap of the fingers. I can read story books to you day after day, one seven-year period, then another seven-year period. You would become somewhat accustomed to it eventually.”

 

Shen Liuxiang: “I won’t get used to it.”

 

Ye Bingran: “Then there’s no need to get used to it. Just make do with listening.”

 

As his words fell, Shen Liuxiang took a deep breath and finally raised his eyes. “I’m sorry, I misspoke. It’s not that I can’t get used to it; it’s that I don’t like it.”

 

Shen Liuxiang thought that having said this, Ye Bingran should understand his meaning, but he had misjudged the other’s thoughts.

 

Hearing these almost explicit words, Ye Bingran’s long eyelashes drooped slightly, hiding the emotions surging in his icy eyes. He said slowly: “I know, I’ve known about this for a long time. That rainy night… you made a vow.”

 

Shen Liuxiang’s heart shook, as if struck by a bolt of lightning, suddenly becoming clear.

 

He had thought at the time that Ye Bingran was eager to clarify their relationship in front of Su Baiche, so he had made a poisonous vow. Could it be that Ye Bingran had already at that time…

 

“I’m sor—”

 

Although it was an instinctive apology, the final syllable never left his mouth, circling around Shen Liuxiang’s lips before being swallowed back.

 

He couldn’t apologize; it would too easily give some unrealistic hope.

 

Shen Liuxiang took a step backward.

 

Ye Bingran took in his movement completely, the hand hanging at his side curling up slightly. When he spoke, he found his voice a bit hoarse.

 

He coughed lightly, trying to make his voice sound less miserable, then explained: “I don’t need you to like me. Just be willing to come with me to the Sword Sect. If you continue to stay outside and are controlled by Qiongqi, harming others, your situation will only worsen.”

 

Shen Liuxiang pressed his lips together: “Your methods of confinement are useless against Qiongqi. Don’t waste your efforts. It’s not that I have no way to control the demon beast; it’s just that my soul is somewhat weak. The problem is in the foundation.”

 

“Thank you,”

 

He raised his eyes to look at Ye Bingran, nodded, and said, “I’m leaving.”

 

In the memories recovered by his primordial spirit, he found a trace of Ye Bingran—it was that snow-covered ground.

 

From childhood to adulthood, he had been dexterous, skilled at making snow figures, folding various paper crafts, and weaving straw hat garlands. That time when he went to the Sword Sect, he had first seen a child his age in the snowy landscape, ceaselessly practicing with a sword, not stopping for an hour.

 

Shen Liuxiang had thought this person was boring, like a wooden block that only knew how to practice sword techniques. So he patted off the layer of snow that had settled on him and returned to his master’s side.

 

As a result, his master had let the Sword Truth Daoist take him away.

 

Coincidentally, Lan Xiaosheng had arrived, and he had followed him. In a half-dreamy state, he learned that the child practicing sword in the snow wasn’t a wooden block or a mute; he was just without parents.

 

Shen Liuxiang didn’t have parents either at that time, so he ran back to the snowy ground, wanting to make that child smile and talk.

 

He made two small snow figures for him, as a gesture of friendship.

 

After that, he didn’t go to the Sword Sect for a long time, only occasionally hearing news about him—that the Sword Sect had produced a genius who was quite formidable…

 

Shen Liuxiang lowered his eyes and turned to leave, but suddenly a painful groan came from behind.

 

He looked back to see Ye Bingran’s face as pale as paper, his thin lips and collar stained with bright red blood, the spiritual energy surrounding his body in chaos.

 

Shen Liuxiang turned back, one hand supporting Ye Bingran, the other gripping his wrist. The spiritual energy inside Ye Bingran was extremely agitated, as if about to burst out of his body.

 

Shen Liuxiang’s expression changed. In the original story, Ye Bingran had experienced qi deviation.

 

He cultivated the Path of Emotionlessness, yet had developed feelings…

 

For a cultivator, when the heart conflicts with the Dao, it’s no less than a disaster. The path of cultivation becomes like walking on thin ice—one slight misstep, and one falls into the fate of qi deviation!

 

Shen Liuxiang frowned deeply, using magic to immobilize Ye Bingran, whose expression had turned cold and fierce. He placed a palm on him, using his own powerful spiritual energy to forcibly suppress the turbulent energy inside Ye Bingran’s body.

 

As dusk fell, Shen Liuxiang trod on fallen leaves, carrying Ye Bingran on his back as he headed toward the Sword Sect.

 

Before reaching the sect’s gate, he first saw a jade-faced young man. Shen Liuxiang stopped, thought for a moment, then curved his lips and said: “Brother Ning, how have you been?”

 

Ning Runxin was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile. The red-clothed youth before him, with such a demeanor, was exactly like the East Wilderness youth in his memory.

 

But soon, he couldn’t smile anymore.

 

Shen Liuxiang felt time was running short and, fearing further delays, directly immobilized Ning Runxin and cast a silencing spell on him.

 

He transferred the unconscious Ye Bingran onto Ning Runxin’s back, breathed a slight sigh of relief, patted Ning Runxin’s shoulder, and entrusted him with an important task: “He accidentally experienced qi deviation. Although the crisis has been resolved, he still needs careful attention afterwards. I leave him to you.”

 

Ning Runxin’s face showed shock, but with words stuck in his throat due to the silencing spell, he couldn’t ask anything. He could only watch as the red-clothed youth waved, turned around, and cleanly left.

 

***

 

As night deepened, a Heavenly Dog flapped its gray wings, making “puff puff” sounds in the air, its mouth holding a basket of fragrant hot food as it flew away from the town.

 

After catching up with everyone, Ao Yue landed and transformed into human form. He lifted the gauze covering the basket, took chicken legs and ate them one by one. After satisfying his craving, he threw the remaining dishes to Luo Yu, Shi Fang, and others.

 

He patted his belly: “I never thought there would be a day when I, Ao Yue, would be so popular among humans. Those commoners insisted on stuffing food into my hands. Sigh, not being good at refusing, I had to reluctantly accept.”

 

Zhou Xuanlan was resolving the strange beast issue in the cultivation world. Ao Yue had brought several people from the demon realm, but instead of doing work, they were enjoying the feeling of being the center of attention.

 

Originally, as demon beasts, they wouldn’t dare to easily appear in the cultivation world.

 

But now, following Zhou Xuanlan, they didn’t need to worry.

 

Last night, news of Shen Liuxiang leading strange beasts to attack Qinglin spread simultaneously with news that the Ninth Demon King of the demon realm, former Qinglin Sect disciple Zhou Xuanlan, had saved the immortal sect. Amidst their shock, people realized that since this Ninth Demon King could save Qinglin from the great evil god, his strength might be comparable!

 

Instantly, Zhou Xuanlan became like a flame of hope, becoming the person after Emperor Di who might stop the demon beast.

 

Additionally, with strange beasts rampaging, Zhou Xuanlan traveled throughout the cultivation world to subdue them. For a time, even though he was a demon, all kinds of praise flowed like a tide.

 

Earlier, after Zhou Xuanlan had dealt with the strange beasts in town and bought something, he hurriedly rushed to the next location. The townspeople, unable to express their gratitude before he disappeared, stopped Ao Yue, who was sniffing outside the inn, and gave him many delicious things.

 

Ao Yue smacked his lips with enjoyment, then turned to find Zhou Xuanlan had stopped in place. He asked puzzled: “Why have you stopped? Weren’t you in a hurry to finish dealing with the strange beasts?”

 

Moonlight filtered through the leaves, falling on the cold features of the figure in black robes.

 

Zhou Xuanlan felt a slight movement in his heart, sensing that his reverse scale was hidden behind some bushes about half a kilometer away.

 

—Master had come and was secretly watching him.

 

At this moment, the Zhou Xuanlan standing in the forest was merely a clone. His true self was studying the Demon Refining Technique, repeatedly refining demon beasts, then removing them, testing if he could truly erase a demon beast’s soul without harming the host.

 

Zhou Xuanlan’s clone lightly lowered his dark eyelashes and, following the instructions of his true self, took out an orange and a sugar figurine he had just bought in town.

 

He slightly curved his thin lips and raised his hand to place the two items on a tree branch.

 

After the group left, a bush moved slightly.

 

Shen Liuxiang poked out his head, with two or three leaves stuck in his black hair. He raised his hand to brush them away and curiously walked toward the place where Zhou Xuanlan had left the items.

 

In his vision appeared two things.

 

Shen Liuxiang was stunned. He took the orange and sugar figurine from the tree fork, wiped them, and took a bite of the bright yellow orange.

 

He hadn’t yet figured out a solution and couldn’t resist coming to see Zhou Xuanlan once more. He had deliberately concealed his presence, but was still discovered.

 

Shen Liuxiang pressed his lips together, unsure of what he was feeling, just thinking the orange was too sweet. His jade-white hand gripped it tightly, reluctant to finish it all at once.

 

The pain in his chest intensified.

 

Qiongqi was also striking at the seal in the mind prison, trying to possess him again.

 

If Qiongqi succeeded, he would definitely use him to threaten Zhou Xuanlan, perhaps to perform the Time-Space Technique, or to do other evil deeds… like a dark, bottomless pit, wanting to drag Zhou Xuanlan down.

 

Shen Liuxiang’s long fingers tightened, his fingertips subtly turning white.

 

He had to make Zhou Xuanlan refine Qiongqi’s soul before Qiongqi possessed him again. However, doing so would also erase his own soul. When Zhou Xuanlan learned the truth, how heartbroken would he be…

 

Shen Liuxiang squatted under the tree, his head lowered, unsure of what to do for a moment.

 

At this time, the jade slip in his storage pouch moved slightly. Shen Liuxiang took it out, and a voice mixed with the night wind floated out.

 

“Master, the method you mentioned is feasible. I’ve repeatedly tried refining demon beast souls and can completely remove it from your body. It will slightly damage your soul, though. Your soul has experienced soul-searching techniques before; can it withstand this?”

 

Shen Liuxiang: “…It can.”

 

Qiongqi in the mind prison immediately went berserk, banging against the prison with “bang bang bang,” trying to tear through the symbols and break out.

 

Zhou Xuanlan said: “Then Master, wait for me.”

 

Shen Liuxiang responded lightly.

 

Refining Qiongqi’s soul, causing it to completely dissipate, could thoroughly eliminate the demon beast, removing the threat to the Three Realms and to Zhou Xuanlan.

 

Moreover, eliminating a demon beast was a great merit. With this one battle alone, Zhou Xuanlan’s reputation in the Three Realms would grow increasingly positive. In the future, with public support, the Heavenly Dao would have no reason to continue seeking his destruction.

 

It couldn’t be better.

 

But the moment Shen Liuxiang put down the jade slip, his whole body’s blood seemed to flow backward, becoming uncontrollably cold.

 

 

No—

 

He couldn’t do this to Zhou Xuanlan!

 

Shen Liuxiang hurriedly picked up the jade slip. At that moment, his chest began to ache violently, as if something was about to break free.

 

Pale-faced, he bit his teeth tightly, infused spiritual energy into it, and said in a trembling voice: “I’m sorry, actually I…”

 

Before he could finish speaking, the jade slip fell to the ground.

 

Shen Liuxiang was stunned. He raised his head slightly, and in his hazy vision appeared a tall figure with loose black hair and a vermilion dot between the brows. The figure crouched down, patted his head, and spoke with a clear, gentle voice.

 

“Little disciple, why are you in such a mess?”

 

Shen Liuxiang’s red lips parted, but before the words “Master” could be uttered, his vision sank into darkness.

 

Zhou Xuanlan arrived in an instant, but still too late. On the ground lay Qiongqi’s silver-haired, red-eyed corpse, already lifeless.

 

Under the tree where the orange and sugar figurine had been placed, a red-clothed youth sat leaning, his handsome fair face slightly turned aside, as if asleep, eyes peacefully closed.

 

Zhou Xuanlan stood stunned, then after a while walked over and carefully took Shen Liuxiang into his arms. “Master has already dealt with Qiongqi. How amazing, how did you do it?”

 

No one in the forest responded.

 

Zhou Xuanlan placed the cold hand in his embrace and warmed it for a while. “Never mind, this disciple will check Master’s soul first.”

 

He sent his spiritual power in, only to discover that the person in his arms was like an empty shell, with nothing inside.

 

Soul… none.

 

Primordial spirit… none.

 

Zhou Xuanlan held the red-clothed youth tighter, tirelessly checking again and again.

 

In the forest, there was only the rustling sound of wind blowing through the treetops.

 

When the wind stopped, the surroundings became terrifyingly quiet.

 

Zhou Xuanlan held the person in his arms tightly, as if finally realizing something, his expression bewildered and somewhat at a loss.

 

To erase all traces without leaving a single soul, apart from self-destroying one’s primordial spirit, there was no other method that could make one disappear so completely.

 

Zhou Xuanlan’s eyes lowered, his face bloodless as he looked at the person in his arms.

 

Had his master destroyed his own primordial spirit to eliminate Qiongqi?

 

Why?

 

Was it because he wasn’t good enough somewhere?

 

He had listened to his master, obediently played the righteous hero, killing strange beasts everywhere, saving people everywhere—was his master still not satisfied?

 

His master had said “sorry” in the jade slip.

 

Sorry for what?

 

For being willing to destroy his own soul just to kill Qiongqi?!

 

Afraid of Qiongqi harming the Three Realms, but not afraid… that he would be heartbroken?

 

Zhou Xuanlan stood dumbfounded, his eyes turning red. Vaguely, rain began falling from the night sky, and many people arrived, seeming to cheer and calling his name, apparently believing that he had killed Qiongqi.

 

Zhou Xuanlan was soaked through, but he only tightly held the person in his arms, his consciousness like vision in a rainy night, gradually becoming blurred and sinking into darkness.

 

How could it be…

 

Destroying the primordial spirit would leave only an empty shell, everything else would disappear without a trace in the world. He couldn’t find anything, couldn’t locate anything, truly having no options left…

 

How could his master be so cruel to him…

 

In his master’s heart, was the safety of the Three Realms more important than him… Otherwise, why act so ruthlessly, giving him no chance, no preparation…

 

Just letting him, in an instant, have nothing.

 

##

---