Chapter 35: Speaking Contrary to One’s Heart

From the moment she called out Shaoyou’s name, Yan Chaosheng’s heart turned cold.

It was at this moment that he finally came to his senses, realizing the foolish thing he had done. Falling into the icy lake with her, he thought to himself, if given another chance, he would never look back.

He should never have clung to that fleeting warmth. How could he have been so deluded as to venture into the Ghost King’s tomb for something so unreal?

Seeing her wake up and instinctively move closer to Shaoyou, his heart filled with even more mockery.

Romance and love could stay far away; he didn’t want them cluttering his vision.

He admitted he regretted it, no longer blinded by those delusions. The only thing Yan Chaosheng wanted now was to survive.

Whether they lived or died, or how deeply they loved each other here, he had to get out. So when he heard Shaoyou mention the Ghost Stone Ebony, his first reaction was to go search for it.

Asking Shaoyou to lend him a sword, Yan Chaosheng wasn’t actually confident. To break through the strange reef, he still had the heart-scale he had bloodily torn off himself.

Yet, for some reason, when he met Liu Shuang’s gaze, he didn’t want to take out that heart-scale and let her see it.

Stupid. Truly stupid.

Yan Chaosheng wasn’t sure if Shaoyou would lend him the sword. In his impression, all immortals treasured their swords like precious gems. Many swords would develop spiritual intelligence after tens of thousands of years, becoming like their right hand.

However, this young master of Jimo didn’t hesitate at all and handed over his sword.

The moment Yan Chaosheng held it in his hand, his expression remained calm, but his heart was filled with indescribable emotions. This was a true immortal, radiant and clear as the sun and moon.

He didn’t have the filthy thoughts that often plagued Yan Chaosheng, nor did he need to climb ruthlessly like him.

Yan Chaosheng had always pretended to look down on such people, but deep down, he envied them. The more magnanimous Shaoyou was, the darker the corner of his own heart seemed.

Holding the sword, Yan Chaosheng glanced at the girl wrapped in Jimo Shaoyou’s immortal robe.

She blinked, perhaps thinking he meant her harm, her eyes filled with full alertness and fear.

She was indeed sharp. He truly regretted coming to this cursed place. He must have been out of his mind.

They didn’t find the Ghost Stone Ebony.

When the ice cracked, Yan Chaosheng was close to Liu Shuang and instinctively reached out to grab her. Yan Chaosheng had been freezing in the snow for hours, while she had been sleeping sweetly beside Jimo Shaoyou, warmed by his immortal robe.

His fingers accidentally brushed against the skin of her neck, and he saw her eyes widen like a dying deer struck by an arrow.

Utterly terrified.

An inexplicable anger surged in his heart, and he wished he could push her into the icy lake. In her heart, was he really that evil?

He could only say coldly, “Summon your Vermilion Umbrella. At least it can hold for a while.”

The three of them barely managed to hold on for a moment before the Henggong Fish caught up. Yan Chaosheng’s heart sank, fearing they would die here today.

Even if he activated his demonic eye again, it would be futile. He was unwilling.

Unexpectedly, Jimo Shaoyou sacrificed himself to block the Henggong Fish, using his sword to let them escape temporarily. Seeing Liu Shuang rush towards Jimo Shaoyou without hesitation, Yan Chaosheng couldn’t tell if his heart was colder or more mocking.

The demon bird that saved them circled above their heads. Being of the same demonic bloodline, Yan Chaosheng naturally understood what it was saying.

It wanted to force them into the water to retrieve an egg.

Yan Chaosheng watched coldly, completely unmoved and unwilling to translate. He was extremely irritable and just wanted to stay as far away from the calamitous Chishui Liu Shuang as possible.

If he ever…

Before he could finish the thought, the girl beside him suddenly leapt into the icy lake.

Not only Yan Chaosheng, but even Shaoyou was caught off guard: “Chishui Fairy!”

She swam through the water towards the sinking egg. The blue bird’s cries grew more urgent, circling anxiously where she had entered the water.

Soon, someone emerged from the surface.

The girl, completely soaked, tremblingly and carefully held an egg, flying up to the sword. The blue bird circled around her, its mournful cries unceasing.

Yan Chaosheng looked over.

The girl, dripping wet, stared blankly at the egg in her hands, looking as if the sky had fallen.

Shaoyou watched for a moment and said, “It has no life left.”

Yan Chaosheng watched indifferently, with no intention of approaching them. Whatever she did now was none of his concern.

She raised her finger, trying to channel immortal energy into it. The garish egg, despite receiving her energy, remained lifeless.

She was frantic: “QingLuan.”

The demon bird above also cried out mournfully.

She seemed to remember something, hesitantly raising her head to look at him.

Yan Chaosheng looked back at her with a cold, expressionless face. He frowned inwardly. Why was she looking at him like that?

Since waking up, she had never looked at him with such hope and sudden realization.

Sure enough, after a while, she moved over, carefully holding the ugly egg, and asked him tentatively, “Do you want to save it?”

“No,” he spat coldly, only wanting her to stay far away from him, as far as possible. Calamity!

“Look at it, don’t you feel a connection?”

Yan Chaosheng responded with a cold laugh.

A connection? A dead egg. Was she mocking him for being of the same demonic bloodline? Besides, what was she dreaming about, thinking that a junior disciple like him, who had almost no cultivation left, could save a lifeless egg.

Why didn’t she ask Jimo Shaoyou to save it?

Yan Chaosheng said expressionlessly, “Young master, if you’re fine, return the egg to the demon bird.” There was a hint of sarcasm in his words. The demon bird probably also knew that this egg, having been in the Henggong Fish’s stomach, had lost its life. Its demonic eyes now shed faint tears of blood.

Yan Chaosheng watched the blood tears and calmly lowered his gaze.

Along the way, he had seen many such partings of life and death among the demons. As a child, he had longed for his own mother, for someone to protect him. But as he grew up, he understood that things he didn’t have, no matter how much he longed for them, would never belong to him.

Such hopeless situations no longer moved him.

The girl pointed to her neck and said, “This is the life meridian. If you save it, I’ll give you all my cultivation. It’s not much, but it’s three hundred years. That way, when you return to the sect, you can participate in the grand competition. How… how about that?”

By the end, she was increasingly nervous, looking at him eagerly.

“Is the young master begging me?”

She immediately nodded: “Yes, yes!”

Yan Chaosheng fell silent. He glanced at her wrist and curled his lips: “Three hundred years of cultivation in exchange?”

“Yes, I won’t deceive you. Jimo Shaoyou can be the witness.”

Shaoyou frowned but said nothing.

“I’ll think about it,” Yan Chaosheng said indifferently.

She immediately shoved the egg into his hands, so quickly that Yan Chaosheng thought she had assumed he agreed.

Yan Chaosheng had no intention of agreeing.

There was indeed a way for demons to save their kind, and that was to share their heart meridian, using his heart meridian to sustain the life of this ugly egg.

How long it would last was uncertain, but once the egg was damaged, his heart meridian would also be damaged, and then life and death would be up to fate.

He wouldn’t save this egg, just as he wouldn’t delude himself into thinking that Chishui Liu Shuang was kind to him because she had feelings for him.

Yan Chaosheng thought coldly, she had brought him such misfortune, was she really taking his teasing seriously?

Liu Shuang glanced at Yan Chaosheng from time to time, nervously watching him hold the still egg of the QingLuan.

She was on edge, feeling like he might throw the egg down at any moment.

The giant blue bird carried them through the Ghost King’s tomb. Snow began to fall again, but this time they didn’t have to worry about the Henggong Fish swallowing them. From Shaoyou, Liu Shuang finally learned about the QingLuan’s lineage. This demon bird was a descendant of the Qing Wu.

Originally a divine bird, it later caused chaos in the human world with the Huang Ao, leading to countless mortals losing their homes and countries. Suppressed by the immortals, the entire clan later fell and became demon birds.

They originally lived in the west, on Mount Buzhou, but after becoming demon birds, they had no place in the world and disappeared.

Who would have thought they would meet the Qing Wu in the Ghost King’s tomb.

No wonder, Liu Shuang thought, the little QingLuan was only seven hundred years old but already so powerful, able to follow Yan Chaosheng into battle. It was naturally a destructive ancient divine bird, and even after falling, its innate bloodline power was not to be underestimated.

Mortals would pale at the mention of the Qing Wu, cursing and hating them.

Although her little QingLuan had never done anything wrong, it was still universally despised. In her previous life, Liu Shuang had asked about the QingLuan’s lineage, and Yan Chaosheng had said indifferently, “Just an ordinary demon bird.”

He never mentioned the QingLuan’s origins.

Liu Shuang only knew that both the QingLuan and the Chi Yuan had been saved by Yan Chaosheng, but she had never known that seven hundred years ago, when he first met the QingLuan, it had no life left.

At the same time, her heart sank.

If she had successfully killed Yan Chaosheng earlier, the QingLuan would have had no chance of survival, not just the QingLuan, but also the later Chi Yuan, Su Lun, and even ChangHuan.

They had all lived because of Yan Chaosheng. Su Lun once said, “If not for the Demon Lord, we might have long since perished.”

Or perhaps, even the later Blue Heaven Realm was related to Yan Chaosheng.

Grandpa Tree said that once a demon had mistakenly entered the Blue Heaven, and the immortal who came to kill it only cared about burning the Blue Heaven with extreme fire, not caring about the lives of the newly awakened little demons.

It was a demon lord who blocked the extreme fire and took the demon away, leaving the Blue Heaven unharmed.

Therefore, when Yan Chaosheng later fell injured into the Blue Heaven, Grandpa Tree recognized him at once and told Liu Shuang who he was.

So if Yan Chaosheng were gone, many people would likely die.

But if Yan Chaosheng lived, what would happen to the fate of Kong Sang?

Liu Shuang frowned, feeling truly conflicted for the first time. If she didn’t kill him, Kong Sang would be in danger, but if she did, what would happen to the lives in the Blue Heaven and her dear ChangHuan?

Liu Shuang was caught in a dilemma.

Now it seemed there was only one way: eliminate his hatred for Kong Sang, then drive him out of Kong Sang, so he could go wherever he wanted to learn, as long as he didn’t bear a grudge against Kong Sang, the immortal realm wouldn’t be destroyed.

After all, later on, the Feng clan and Kunlun were still fine, and Yan Chaosheng even helped Kunlun.

So, he was clear in his love and hate. If he had no enmity with Kong Sang, he wouldn’t bother destroying it.

Liu Shuang’s heart ached. If only she had been reborn earlier, she wouldn’t have framed him or caused him to lose his cultivation.

Bai Yuxiao’s feud with him was even greater. How could she drive him out of Kong Sang without making him hate it, and make him leave as far as possible?

She pondered deeply, then her eyes lit up.

First, find a way to return Yan Chaosheng’s cultivation, then apologize to Bai Yuxiao, and then, marry him off to Mi Chu, whom she disliked the most!

Let him and Mi Chu establish their own sect. That way, he would have the white moonlight he missed in his previous life and would surely be satisfied. Mi Chu was still from Kong Sang, so he wouldn’t destroy his wife’s family.

Liu Shuang thought more and more that this was a brilliant idea.

Getting rid of two troublemakers at once couldn’t be more perfect. Let Mi Chu follow him to live a miserable life in the demon realm, while saving Kong Sang, killing two birds with one stone.

The immediate task was to get Yan Chaosheng to save the little QingLuan.

The Qing Wu carried them for an unknown amount of time before a broken bridge appeared before them.

It nudged Shaoyou with its head, indicating for him to step onto the broken bridge.

Below the bridge was filled with drifting ghostly energy, while the other end was completely obscured.

Shaoyou pondered for a moment, then sheathed his sword and stepped onto the bridge.

The Qing Wu used its massive body to block Liu Shuang and Yan Chaosheng, indicating they should not follow.

Liu Shuang watched as Shaoyou’s figure grew farther and farther away, eventually disappearing. She thought, the QingLuan’s mother should be trustworthy… right?

She took out the Mirror of Eternity, and the mirror’s watery light shone. Liu Shuang breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, they could escape now.

If they hadn’t been lucky enough to encounter the Qing Wu, they would never have found this place.

Yan Chaosheng sat cross-legged on the ground, meditating.

The egg was casually placed beside him, as if it were something dirty. The Qing Wu, for some reason, listlessly sat beside him, not showing any anger, but instead, like Liu Shuang, gently nudged the egg closer to Yan Chaosheng with its claw.

Extremely careful, very ingratiating.

Its cries were mournful, heart-wrenching to hear.

Liu Shuang watched curiously. How did the Qing Wu know Yan Chaosheng could save its child?

Unfortunately, the meditating Yan Chaosheng remained unmoved. He opened his eyes and said coldly, “Stop crying. It’s annoying.”

The Qing Wu closed its mouth.

Liu Shuang was stunned. So Yan Chaosheng could communicate with the Qing Wu.

Thinking that she could no longer kill Yan Chaosheng but instead had to bring him and Mi Chu together and then drive him out of the immortal realm, Liu Shuang picked up the egg and placed it in his lap.

Yan Chaosheng turned to look at her, his tone icy: “What are you doing?”

“Have you thought about it? Do you want to save the Qing… Qing Wu’s child?”

“I’m in a bad mood,” he said coldly. “I won’t save it.”

Liu Shuang instinctively wanted to ask why he was in a bad mood, but then realized she wasn’t in a good mood either, and Shaoyou didn’t seem to be either. Who could be cheerful in the Ghost King’s tomb? She immediately understood.

But she could wait, the QingLuan couldn’t. If it wasn’t saved soon, it would really die, and what if it turned into a stupid bird?

The Qing Wu beside her was about to cry.

Liu Shuang steeled her heart and pulled at her collar: “How about you take a hundred years of cultivation first?”

The two of them stared at each other, and he remained silent.

Liu Shuang, unsure of his thoughts and thinking it wasn’t enough, reluctantly said, “Two hundred years, I can’t give more than that, or I won’t be able to take you out of here.”

“Is the young master serious?” he sneered. “Fine.”

Liu Shuang slowly moved over, feeling for the first time what it meant to truly offer her neck for the slaughter.

Transferring cultivation had two methods: one was involuntary, where the person taking the cultivation used evil methods to forcibly take it, which would incur heavenly punishment, and the other was through the life meridian, voluntarily transferring it along with the bloodline power.

The life meridian was on the left side of the neck, connected to the spirit marrow and the heart, where all spiritual energy flowed continuously.

Due to the recent turmoil, Yan Chaosheng no longer wanted to save the QingLuan. It was just three hundred years of cultivation with bloodline power, she could cultivate it back, but the QingLuan couldn’t die because of the changes she had brought.

Honestly, Liu Shuang was very nervous now.

She leaned closer to Yan Chaosheng, slightly tilting her head, feeling his gaze on her neck but hearing no words.

She closed her eyes and urged, “Hurry up and take the spiritual energy.”

Before Shaoyou returned and stopped her.

It was so vexing. His breath drew closer, brushing against her skin. Liu Shuang admitted she wasn’t feeling well, wanting to kick him away, wanting to back out, but the QingLuan was already a dead egg, and she couldn’t retreat now.

After a long while, the young man still didn’t move.

She opened her eyes and frowned at him. What now? Was he planning to torment her before taking her spiritual energy? His eyes, with faint red at the corners, glared back coldly.

“Why aren’t you moving? Are you going back on your word?” Liu Shuang said.

He said with sarcasm, “The young master is even willing to give three hundred years of cultivation, how dare I go back on my word? I’m just afraid the young master will regret it, like before, slandering and retaliating against me.”

He brought up her past misdeeds at such a time.

Liu Shuang coughed, “I really won’t harm you again.”

She took out a memory pearl and aimed it at herself and Yan Chaosheng, saying, “Today, as a witness, I am coercing my disciple Yan Chaosheng to save an egg, and also allowing him to take two hundred years of my cultivation. This is recorded.”

Liu Shuang took back the memory pearl and handed it to Yan Chaosheng: “Now you can rest assured.”

She knelt before him and closed her eyes: “Take the spiritual energy.”

Yan Chaosheng lowered his gaze, seeing the girl’s hands clenched slightly on her knees due to nervousness, and glanced at her fair and soft neck.

He bent down, stopping just before touching her skin, his eyes flickering, lost in thought.

Liu Shuang had been waiting for a while now, and still he hadn’t moved. She was starting to get angry. Was his paranoia ever going to end? She opened her eyes, ready to glare at him.

A cool sensation touched her neck, something icy brushed against her skin.

From her angle, Yan Chaosheng’s black hair cascaded down as he buried his face in her neck. She froze for a long moment, gritting her teeth to prevent herself from shivering from the cold.

After a while, she felt something was wrong and asked in confusion, “Has the cultivation been transferred?” No, she didn’t feel weakened.

Yan Chaosheng raised his head and looked at her coldly.

“If the young master is unwilling to transfer cultivation, there’s no need to force it. This disciple’s spiritual power is too weak to forcibly take the young master’s spiritual energy.”

Liu Shuang: “…” Was she really so contradictory, saying she was willing to exchange but actually unwilling to let Yan Chaosheng take her spiritual energy to save the QingLuan? No, she really wanted to save her little QingLuan.

Yan Chaosheng turned his back, his Adam’s apple moving slightly.