BAAF Chapter 107

Shen Liuxiang saw a pair of eyes as black as ink, but stained with blood in the night rain. As they closed, they revealed a trace of hatred born from extreme pain.

 

Shen Liuxiang sat up startled, surrounded by soft light. A jade-white hand rested on his forehead, its cool touch making him somewhat more alert.

 

Shen Liuxiang was stunned, looking at the immortal-like person with a vermilion dot between the brows before him. A feeling of familiarity surged like a wave in his heart, and he involuntarily embraced the man’s waist, the word “Master” escaping his lips with a trace of grievance.

 

It was as if he had merged with the memory of the youth who, upon returning from East Wilderness to find his master gone, had cried sorrowfully for days.

 

Fang Zhongqing raised his willow-like eyebrows: “Still acting like a child.”

 

He shook his head lightly, patted Shen Liuxiang’s head, and said: “This is the soul imprint I left in your heart years ago. It’s fading soon, so listen to me now.”

 

Where the two stood was shrouded in white mist, with no other objects present. Fang Zhongqing’s thin lips moved slightly, but the entire space remained silent.

 

Shen Liuxiang didn’t let go of the person he was holding. As he listened, his phoenix eyes widened, his heart stirring with tremendous waves.

 

Finally, Fang Zhongqing said: “I suspect you did something in East Wilderness that angered the Heavenly Dao, so it disciplined you. But as a rule-maker and guardian, the Heavenly Dao cannot break its own rules by killing an innocent person, so it used external forces to take away your fate as punishment.”

 

Shen Liuxiang’s lips trembled: “Master, are you saying I am originally a person from here?”

 

Although after recovering the original body’s memories, he increasingly felt that these memories were his own, hearing Fang Zhongqing’s clear statement still threw his mind into chaos.

 

Fang Zhongqing: “You call me master, I acknowledge you as my little disciple. What do you think?”

 

Shen Liuxiang’s spirit was greatly shocked. His memories had actually mostly recovered, but they stopped at the final part—his second visit to East Wilderness.

 

In the beast tide, he seemed to have saved a child, and then remembered nothing afterward.

 

“According to what Master says, my soul had scattered completely. So why am I still alive, returning after ten years?”

 

Fang Zhongqing said: “Your soul was indeed gone, but your primordial spirit still existed in the world. Someone must have gathered your scattered primordial spirit and then nurtured a new soul in another place.”

 

Shen Liuxiang suddenly thought of Zhou Xuanlan’s Nascent Soul, that little being who called himself “this lord” and had used primordial qi to nurture his small Nascent Soul.

 

The one calling himself “this lord” was the Zhou Xuanlan from the original story, but why would he do such a thing?

 

The so-called original story—was it that he only saw a part of it, or perhaps it contained both truth and falsehood, inconsistent with the real situation? After all, the original story was just a book, while in this world, whether Zhou Xuanlan or others, they all truly existed.

 

Shen Liuxiang raised his head, saw the vermilion dot between Fang Zhongqing’s brows, and suddenly sighed: “But Master, I might have to leave again.”

 

He didn’t know if it was the Zhou Xuanlan from the original story who had gone through tremendous efforts to bring him back. Now, his soul was too weak and would eventually be devoured by Qiongqi. He feared that all of Zhou Xuanlan’s painstaking efforts would ultimately come to nothing.

 

He wasn’t afraid of death, but he was reluctant to die.

 

Fang Zhongqing was silent for a moment: “I seem to have forgotten to mention, I helped you deal with Qiongqi.”

 

Shen Liuxiang’s eyes widened: “Then isn’t this disciple’s soul already…?”

 

He recalled the pair of eyes he had seen as if in a dream, and his face paled. He looked around, wanting to see if there was a way to leave.

 

“It’s still there, but barely distinguishable from nothingness,”

 

As Fang Zhongqing said this, his form gradually became transparent. “I have sent your primordial spirit to a good place. Stay there to nurture your soul, then come out again.”

 

Shen Liuxiang noticed his changing state and his expression tensed slightly. “Is Master leaving?”

 

Fang Zhongqing nodded, patting his head: “The Heavenly Dao suddenly took action against you—no one knew, and no one could stop it. My soul imprint was of no help then, but fortunately, it can be of some use now.”

 

Fang Zhongqing lowered his eyes and added: “Your Senior Brother has a thread of the Heavenly Dao’s will within him, but he won’t harm you. Don’t place your resentment on him.”

 

Shen Liuxiang shook his head: “This disciple would never do that.”

 

As he spoke, he tried to embrace him more tightly, but his hand passed through the white-robed figure.

 

Shen Liuxiang was stunned for a moment—Master’s soul imprint was about to disappear… He suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said: “Sword Truth Daoist searched my soul, wanting to find the soul imprint to see Master!”

 

Fang Zhongqing’s long eyelashes trembled, his expression changing slightly, indistinguishable whether it was disgust, melancholy, or something else.

 

“Ignore him… I treated him as a good friend, only to be bitten… He’s capable of any outrageous action… But for my sake, let him fend for himself.”

 

Shen Liuxiang said: “I’ll listen to Master. Master, did you successfully ascend?”

 

Fang Zhongqing’s cold, clear eyes suddenly revealed a faint smile. His transparent index finger lightly touched Shen Liuxiang’s forehead. “Be diligent in your cultivation, and my little disciple will know.”

 

As the words fell, the white-robed figure disappeared.

 

Shen Liuxiang’s vision blurred, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw an unexpected handsome face.

 

The sky was gloomy, and the secluded bamboo surrounding the soul-gathering platform rustled.

 

Nan Yuequan lowered his eyes, looking at the small being sitting cross-legged on the platform. Palm-sized, it blinked its phoenix eyes at him, raised its right eyebrow slightly, and finally pressed its lips together, as if accepting the reality.

 

It opened its mouth, seemingly about to obediently call him “Foster Brother.”

 

But upon discovering it couldn’t speak, its small face became bewildered, and even more confused when it found it couldn’t move other parts of its body.

 

Nan Yuequan said: “Wu Yuan Daoren sent you here. Once your soul is healed and returns to normal, you can leave the soul-gathering platform.”

 

This was originally prepared for his brother. He wanted to capture Su Baiche, use his true body to seek his brother’s soul, perhaps reviving him. But Wu Yuan Daoren informed him that his brother’s soul had long entered reincarnation and was now doing well.

 

Forcefully disturbing him would not necessarily be a good thing.

 

Nan Yuequan had always been troubled by guilt, hating that he hadn’t arrived in time back then, causing his only relative to be lost as well.

 

He had prepared the soul-gathering platform for years, worried that his brother’s soul might be damaged and could only become a wandering ghost drifting in the world. Fang Zhongqing was one of the few people he trusted, and hearing from him that his brother was doing well finally put his mind at ease.

 

In truth, even if not for these reasons, he would have allowed Shen Liuxiang’s primordial spirit to reside in the soul-gathering platform.

 

Di Yunyu had shown him great kindness. He had rushed to the Demon Realm but was already ashamed for not being able to help his foster father. Shen Liuxiang was of his foster father’s bloodline, so naturally, he would spare no effort to protect him.

 

Nan Yuequan picked up jade chopsticks, took a grain of rice from the bowl, and fed it to the Nascent Soul’s mouth.

 

“Open your mouth.”

 

Shen Liuxiang frowned deeply, wanting to ask Nan Yuequan about Zhou Xuanlan’s news, or to have Nan Yuequan spread word of his whereabouts, but at the moment he could do nothing. He had no choice but to open his small mouth, take in the white glutinous rice, chew, and swallow.

 

This didn’t seem to be rice. After swallowing, his whole body felt warm and extremely comfortable.

 

Shen Liuxiang couldn’t help but open his mouth again, but Nan Yuequan extended his index finger, lifted his chin, and closed it.

 

“One grain per day.”

 

After eating more of the warm rice, Shen Liuxiang gradually became able to move, but still couldn’t leave the soul-gathering platform. On the platform, he used his slender, fair fingers to write words, but Nan Yuequan pretended not to see. When Shen Liuxiang rebelled by refusing to eat the rice, Nan Yuequan would pinch his fragile little chin and forcefully feed him a grain.

 

Cloudy days, sunny days, full moons, crescent moons, day after day, Shen Liuxiang couldn’t remember how long he had stayed on the soul-gathering platform. It felt as if he would stay there forever.

 

Until one day, Nan Yuequan no longer fed him rice, removed the barrier, and picked him up from the soul-gathering platform.

 

Shen Liuxiang sat in his palm, looking up, his little face somewhat bewildered.

 

Nan Yuequan formed a hand seal and cast a spell.

 

The moment his feet touched the ground, Shen Liuxiang’s eyes widened slightly. He looked at Nan Yuequan in front of him, then was tapped on the head. “Speak.”

 

Shen Liuxiang covered his head, coughed lightly. Having not spoken for sixteen years, his voice was somewhat hoarse. “Hey… eh… Zhou…”

 

Nan Yuequan interrupted: “Enough, be quiet.”

 

Shen Liuxiang blinked and smiled, moved his body, feeling something wasn’t quite right, but properly bowed. “Thank you, Foster Brother, for taking care of me. I must leave now, but I’ll come back to see you another day.”

 

Nan Yuequan: “Where are you going?”

 

Shen Liuxiang: “To the demon realm, to find my little demon.”

 

Nan Yuequan: “There are no little demons in the demon realm now.”

 

Shen Liuxiang thought he didn’t understand who “little demon” referred to, so he explained: “The Ninth Demon King.”

 

Nan Yuequan’s face wore an ambiguous smile. “There are no demon kings either.”

 

Shen Liuxiang was stunned.

 

“More than a decade ago, that little demon of yours said, ‘One king for the demon race is enough,’ so now there are no demon kings in the demon realm,”

 

Nan Yuequan looked at him and said softly: “Only the Demon Emperor.”

 

“?!!”

 

A flood of questions surged in Shen Liuxiang’s heart, but Nan Yuequan raised his hand, clearly not wanting to waste words.

 

Shen Liuxiang closed his mouth, even more eager to leave.

 

Nan Yuequan looked at him and said: “I don’t agree with you going, but if you insist, just don’t come back crying.”

 

Shen Liuxiang didn’t understand these words. He swept his gaze across the bamboo grove, extending his divine sense to find a path.

 

At this moment, he finally realized what was wrong.

 

His cultivation…

 

Shen Liuxiang gathered his spiritual power and struck a stone in the distance. With a “pat,” the stone neither turned to powder nor shattered. It merely shook slightly, emitting a bit of gray smoke, with no further effect.

 

Shen Liuxiang looked at his palm and drew in a sharp breath.

 

“This stone is a bit harder than most. If it were an ordinary stone,”

 

Nan Yuequan placed his hand on his shoulder, patting it as if to comfort him. “With your Foundation Establishment cultivation, you should be able to break it.”

 

Boom—

 

Shen Liuxiang stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.

 

Foundation Establishment?

 

Likely anyone outside the Demon Palace could easily destroy him.

 

Nan Yuequan said: “Starting over is difficult, but your talent is good. With diligence, in a few decades, you’ll be at the Divinity Formation realm again.”

 

Shen Liuxiang: “…”

 

He realized why Nan Yuequan had said not to come back crying. With his current strength, going out alone, traveling from the Devil Realm to the Demon Realm, he would likely perish before even seeing Zhou Xuanlan.

 

Having barely regained his life, considering this, Shen Liuxiang’s whole body trembled.

 

He looked at Nan Yuequan, his phoenix eyes blinking: “If Foster Brother were to go to the Demon Realm, it surely wouldn’t take long, perhaps…”

 

“I don’t want to visit the Demon Realm lately,” Nan Yuequan stood with his hands behind his back, glancing at him. “Didn’t you say you were leaving? Why haven’t you gone yet?”

 

Shen Liuxiang ground his teeth. His storage pouch had disappeared somewhere, and he didn’t have a single defensive magical artifact on him—completely clean, utterly destitute.

 

He touched his stomach, feeling waves of hunger. This body couldn’t even practice abstinence from food.

 

Nan Yuequan clearly didn’t want him to seek Zhou Xuanlan, pressuring him indirectly.

 

Shen Liuxiang hesitated for a while, then said: “If that’s the case, Foster Brother, take care. I’m leaving.”

 

He didn’t know how much time had passed in the outside world, but he couldn’t stay here forever. Those blood-red black eyes had never let him feel at ease for a moment. What did it matter if he was at the Foundation Establishment stage? Every cultivator had once been at that level.

 

Nan Yuequan’s face gradually darkened as he watched the figure search for a path through the bamboo grove. After finding one, Shen Liuxiang turned back, waved, and in a flash was gone.

 

Nan Yuequan coldly snorted. The Demon Realm was thousands of miles away. Without spirit stones or cultivation, let’s see how far he could run.

 

Nan Yuequan turned with a sweep of his sleeve, standing alone before the soul-gathering platform. Soon, a subordinate came to report: “Lord, the Little Devil Master has cut some bamboo branches.”

 

Nan Yuequan sneered: “What for? As provisions for the journey?”

 

Shortly after, another report came: “Lord, the Little Devil Master has left the palace and is selling bamboo rings, bamboo whips, bamboo dragonflies in the street…”

 

Nan Yuequan raised an eyebrow, quite surprised: “Not a bad little scheme, but how many spirit stones can he sell those for?”

 

Finally, the subordinate reported with trepidation: “Lord, the Little Devil Master has taken a teleportation array to the Demon Realm!”

 

Nan Yuequan was stunned, his brow furrowing: “What happened?”

 

The subordinate trembled as he replied: “The Emerald Secluded Bamboo is only found in our palace. The Little Devil Master said these three items were all toys you play with daily in the palace, having absorbed your devil energy, very nourishing. So one bamboo ring, one bamboo whip, one bamboo dragonfly… sold for an astronomical price!”

 

Nan Yuequan: “…”

 

He narrowed his eyes slightly and summoned someone through telepathy.

 

Moments later, a gray-robed figure appeared before him. “What are your orders, Lord?”

 

Nan Yuequan turned with a sweep of his sleeve, snorting coldly: “Follow him, but don’t reveal yourself easily. Only intervene if his life is in danger.”

 

The gray-robed man bowed in acknowledgment and disappeared.

 

Meanwhile, as Shen Liuxiang stepped out of the teleportation array into demon territory, he heard someone shout loudly nearby.

 

“Shen Liuxiang—”

 

Shen Liuxiang’s whole body trembled and froze.

 

Given his previous reputation as the “Great Evil God” who could stop children from crying at night, he had specifically used a disguise technique.

 

How could he still be recognized?

 

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