A thunderclap sounded, and rain fell without warning.
Zhou Xuanlan awoke from his dream, his slender hand pulling his master closer into his embrace.
For several consecutive nights, events from his childhood had repeated in his dreams, as if hinting at something.
During the primordial era, heavenly tribulation descended, punishing all great demons. To preserve their bloodline, the dragon clan used a heaven-defying technique to send him away, with the four great demon beasts infiltrating during the process.
Zhou Xuanlan had pondered: if Taotie and other demon beasts could infiltrate, why hadn’t other members of the dragon clan accompanied him?
Or perhaps they had, but just hadn’t appeared yet.
Tonight’s rain was also unusual, carrying a familiar essence.
Zhou Xuanlan frowned in thought, his gaze eventually falling on Shen Liuxiang, the corner of his lips blooming into a slight smile.
Recently, his master’s cultivation had hit a bottleneck, making him more diligent than usual. But the harder he tried, the more difficult it became to break through, so Zhou Xuanlan had brought him back to rest.
Shen Liuxiang’s black hair was spread across the pillow as he lay on his side, his phoenix eyes gently closed. His fair, exquisite chin was tilted up by Zhou Xuanlan, yet he showed no reaction to the gentle caress, sleeping soundly.
Zhou Xuanlan gazed at him for a long time, tenderly kissing the corner of his lips before closing his eyes again.
Early the next morning, the guards of Xuanyao Palace noticed three long rainbows streaking across the sky.
Flying above Xuanyao Palace was forbidden to everyone. A new guard was about to intercept when someone beside him quickly held him back: “Don’t bother; those three are Lord Ao Yue’s sons.”
The guard frowned: “Even Lord Ao Yue isn’t allowed.”
“I know,” the person restraining him pointed at the three figures breaking through clouds and mist. “Look more carefully. Who’s sitting on the Tiangou in the middle?”
The new guard looked and suddenly understood: “Prince Bubu.”
Three massive Tiangou with gray wings flapped, arriving above Xuanyao Palace in the blink of an eye.
A boy who looked thirteen or fourteen, with golden hair reaching his waist and extraordinarily handsome features, sat on the back of the majestic Tiangou. With one leg propped up and a hand slightly shielding his eyes from the dawn light, he gazed down at the vast palace.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Father.”
Shen Bubu narrowed his eyes slightly, raising his hand as his three companions descended through the clouds, landing steadily on the ground.
Shen Bubu leaped down, followed by the Tiangou who had transformed into human form. He strode toward the sleeping palace, but just as he approached, the main door opened.
A slender figure walked out from within.
The joyful “Father” that Shen Bubu was about to utter changed course between his teeth, and he formally bowed: “Greetings, Demon Emperor Father.”
His Demon Emperor father was very good to him and not fierce, but due to his high position, few could face him without trepidation, except for his other father.
Shen Bubu was still fine, but his three companions weren’t so fortunate, collectively transforming back to their original forms in fright.
Bang, bang, bang!
Three small gray dogs sat down on their haunches simultaneously, curling up and trembling.
The Demon Emperor didn’t favor them, and as for why…
Shen Liuxiang peeked out from behind Zhou Xuanlan, staring at the three fluffy gray puppies on the ground, feeling that even the cold of late autumn morning had been dispelled.
He couldn’t resist reaching out, his slender white fingers running through the soft fur, stroking back and forth.
The three little Tiangou glanced sideways at the silent Demon Emperor nearby, their bodies trembling even more violently.
Zhou Xuanlan lowered his eyelids, his expression showing a hint of helplessness.
His master indeed liked furry creatures. Fortunately, there were none in or around Xuanyao Palace. The only ones who could approach his master were Ao Yue and Hua Jian.
The previously spirited golden-haired youth, seeing this, frowned, his lips turning downward, feeling both sour and aggrieved.
So Shen Bubu turned around, transforming back into his chubby little form with a golden leaf on his head, and threw himself into Shen Liuxiang’s arms.
“Father! Look at Bubu!”
If I had known, I wouldn’t have brought them.
Hmph.
After all the fuss, Shen Bubu defeated the Tiangou and successfully occupied Shen Liuxiang’s attention. However, before he could enjoy the moment, he was lifted by his nape, removed from his father’s embrace.
“How old are you now?”
Zhou Xuanlan placed the ginseng who was actively pretending to be young back on the ground, patted his head, and immediately a youth’s form reappeared.
Shen Bubu sighed softly, wishing he hadn’t grown so quickly.
“I came to find Father for the Contract Day between humans and demons. Does Father want to go?”
Shen Liuxiang naturally wanted to go.
Half a year ago, he created a spell that allowed humans and demons to form contracts, with one becoming the contract master and the other becoming the contract spirit beast.
He had been conceptualizing this for a long time and had established the main contract, though the contract terms weren’t fair to the demon race. Later, after discussing with Zhou Xuanlan, the two researched for a long time, examining numerous ancient texts at Shenqi Mountain, and finally perfected the Spirit Beast Divine Contract.
Tonight was the exchange meeting between humans and demons, the day of contract formation.
For cultivators, everyone wanted to possess the power of strong demon beasts; for demon cultivators, having a divine contract would help them avoid the desperate lightning tribulation during ascension.
Thus, East Wilderness, located at the junction of the two realms, was no longer the desolate landscape of the past. Every town was packed with people, decorated with lanterns and festive ornaments.
Shen Liuxiang walked among the crowd, bought a tanghulu, and was just unwrapping the oiled paper when Zhou Xuanlan suddenly grabbed his arm.
Shen Liuxiang: “What’s wrong?”
Zhou Xuanlan’s gaze swept through the surging crowd, sensing a dangerous aura. Someone from the crowd was watching Shen Liuxiang.
Zhou Xuanlan caught a trace of the aura and felt uneasy: “Master, wait for me a moment.”
Shen Liuxiang nodded and wandered the street alone for a while. Shen Bubu had disappeared in a flash, saying he was going to find a good place for the little Tiangou.
Shen Liuxiang looked around and found a tavern to sit in.
After the waiter brought wine, Shen Liuxiang picked up his cup, about to drink, when someone sat down across from him. With peach blossom eyes, the person poured wine while surveying the surroundings: “The Demon Emperor is actually not here.”
Shen Liuxiang glanced at him: “Have you formed a contract?”
Hua Jian, as the only one among the former demon kings to survive Zhou Xuanlan’s hand, plus having nine-tailed fox bloodline, had countless cultivators in the cultivation world wanting to form contracts with him.
“Don’t mention it,” Hua Jian sighed dejectedly. “My heart yearns for the bright moon, but the moon shines on ditches.”
Chechе tormented him countless times, yet he still loved Chechе like his first love.
Regarding the contract, his first thought was to form one with Su Baiche, but unfortunately, the other showed no interest. Not only that, Su Baiche had now changed his appearance, no longer having that delicate willow-like feeling, but instead looking dignified and handsome.
Hua Jian had been heartbroken for a long time. Such a beautiful appearance, abandoned just like that.
Shen Liuxiang merely responded with an “Oh,” showing no intention to comfort him.
This made Hua Jian even more dejected. Just then, he suddenly spotted a figure in a white dress, with clear and beautiful features, holding a sword.
“A beauty!”
Hua Jian tossed his wine cup: “I’m off.”
Shen Liuxiang looked back and saw that the sword indicated a Sword Sect disciple.
Speaking of which, Ye Bingren had recently broken through. With his senior brother absent, Ye Bingren was now considered the foremost person in the cultivation world.
As Shen Liuxiang was pondering this, a communication talisman from Ling Ye fell into his hand.
His senior brother had been traveling throughout the continent in recent years. Today, he suddenly sent a message, telling him there were anomalies in the realm and to be careful lately.
“What are you looking at?”
A man dressed in brocade robes sat in Hua Jian’s former seat, tapping his folding fan, and the tavern waiter immediately rushed over.
Su Baiche: “Bring a few more pots of good wine.”
Passersby softly uttered the words “Pavilion Master.”
In recent years, the Poqiong Pavilion had grown increasingly powerful, with the intention of collecting all treasures under heaven. Its mysterious pavilion master was rumored to be handsome, elegant, and to have three thousand beauties in his harem.
By all accounts, Su Baiche should be living quite happily, but the reality was different.
Back then, he had been tricked by Shen Liuxiang and was still under his control. Fortunately, Shen Liuxiang hadn’t placed too many restrictions on him, except occasionally asking him for treasures.
Not long ago, the Emperor’s daughter had given birth to dragon-phoenix twins. Shen Liuxiang had taken away the Poqiong Pavilion’s most precious treasure.
Su Baiche was so distressed his teeth itched. Shen Liuxiang called it tribute, a protection fee.
Su Baiche thought to himself that if not for being fellow countrymen, he would definitely rebel and refuse to endure such humiliation.
But he was truly lonely, with only this one fellow countryman.
Unlike Shen Liuxiang, he couldn’t find a sense of belonging in this world. After much effort, he discovered that ascension was his only path. Fortunately, after resolving the matter with Tong Xi, he learned considerable information about planes of existence, and ascension was just a matter of time.
Shen Liuxiang was surprised to see Su Baiche alone: “Where are your consorts?”
In the past, Su Baiche was always surrounded by women, and each time they met, they were never the same group.
Su Baiche shrugged: “Though it’s somewhat cruel, I had to let them cool down, otherwise it would be troublesome.”
Shen Liuxiang: “What trouble?”
“I was too naive before,” Su Baiche frowned. “I had agreed that my heart was as vast as the ocean, and they shouldn’t be jealous, but they all wanted to be my one and only… How is that possible! Even if I doted on them all, I couldn’t be exclusive to each one, unless I had dozens of bodies.”
Shen Liuxiang rubbed his chin, pondering: “So your harem is on fire.”
“More or less,” Su Baiche said. “They even started fighting, and their brothers, fathers, ancestors all came to trouble me.”
As he spoke, Su Baiche added: “You can’t understand such interesting troubles, can you?”
Shen Liuxiang: “…I don’t need to.”
Su Baiche shook his head with an ambiguous meaning and drank his wine quietly.
Shen Liuxiang’s gaze fell on the street. Suddenly, he saw a youth’s figure in the crowd, and his phoenix eyes widened slightly.
“Where are you going?” Su Baiche called out, watching as Shen Liuxiang instantly disappeared into the crowd.
Shen Liuxiang approached and found that the youth not only had a back view resembling Zhou Xuanlan but also looked somewhat like him from the front. He appeared to be sixteen or seventeen, with handsome eyebrows and star-like eyes, extremely good-looking.
He was holding a little girl’s hand, who was also adorable and well-behaved.
As Shen Liuxiang was surprised, Zhou Xuanlan returned to his side: “What is Master looking at?”
Shen Liuxiang pointed at the siblings and asked in a low voice: “Are they your clan members? Go take a look quickly.”
Zhou Xuanlan said: “Whether they are or not doesn’t matter.”
“Really?” Shen Liuxiang recalled the past. “I remember when you were little, you looked extremely lonely. Wouldn’t you be happy to have clan members?”
Back then in East Wilderness, five-year-old Zhou Xuanlan would often sit silently alone, occasionally looking up at the cold moon in the sky, his black eyes revealing a sense of solitude.
A small shadow under the moon, falling on the ground.
Like an abandoned cub.
“That was only at the beginning,” Zhou Xuanlan laughed lightly. “Later, didn’t Master come to bother me every time? So I didn’t miss home at all.”
Shen Liuxiang thought to himself, was he really that bothersome?
All he did was throw stones into the lake when the little black dragon was contemplating by the water, or use branches and leaves to cover his eyes when he was gazing at the cold moon… that’s all.
“However, I do have something to ask them,” Zhou Xuanlan said.
“Go ahead then.”
Shen Liuxiang curiously watched the siblings as Zhou Xuanlan walked over. Suddenly, he received a message from Xu Xingchen: “Emperor Father! Emperor Father! Emperor Father’s portrait moved!”
Shen Liuxiang: “…”
In Emperor Xu’s sleeping palace on Shenqi Mountain, there always hung a portrait. Xu Xingchen would carefully examine it every morning when he woke up, and would also mumble a word or two to it at night.
“Close the window and it won’t move anymore.”
After replying to the communication talisman, Shen Liuxiang continued to look over. At that moment, a figure silently appeared beside him, raising a hand to press on his shoulder.
Shen Liuxiang was startled, turned his head, and his vision went black.
##
Thank You for the new chapter (๑ Ỡ ◡ Ỡ๑)ﾉ♡