Futile Devices Scans

“Lord Yi…”

Wenren Li called out softly. He did not doubt Chen Yixin’s feelings for him, yet he did not wish for him to go this far on his behalf.

But before he could finish speaking, Chen Yixin turned his head. Under the gaze of all present, he hooked an arm around Wenren Li’s neck and gave him a lingering, deeply affectionate kiss.

“A-Li, have you forgotten? From today onward, you and I are Dao companions. In the mortal world, that is no different from husband and wife. ‘Lord Yi’ is what others may call me—A-Li may call me anything he likes, except that.”

The gathered immortals felt as though their eyes had been blinded. Their faces flushed red—whether from embarrassment or from being swept up in the atmosphere between the two, it was hard to tell.

Moreover, Chen Yixin’s conduct was utterly shocking. Outside, he was domineering and overbearing, never showing mercy even to juniors.

Yet before Wenren Li, Chen Yixin was gentle—and even carried a hint of something akin to meekness… no, not meekness. He was acting spoiled toward Wenren Li. And if they remembered correctly, the youngest son of the Phoenix Divine Clan had already lived for two to three hundred thousand years…

“You… you two!” The Immortal Lord blocking their path was the most shaken. He opened his mouth, yet did not know what to say. Being ignored like this felt unbearable, and at the same time, a strange emotion rose within him.

“This Lord being intimate with his wife—how does it concern you?” Chen Yixin turned his head, his expression once again cold to the extreme—completely different from when he had just kissed Wenren Li.

His tone was so natural that the Immortal Lord was left speechless.

Chen Yixin let out a cold snort, then turned back to Wenren Li, continuing to soothe him. He had no intention of hearing anything displeasing from Wenren Li at such a moment.

His hand rose to Wenren Li’s cheek, drawing him closer before placing a gentle kiss upon his glabella. “A-Li, I have chosen you. If you live, I live. If I die, you will die with me.”

Wenren Li’s throat tightened slightly. He nodded. “Alright.”

“Jiu’er!” Upon hearing Chen Yixin’s words, Emperor Fengyuan and the Phoenix Empress could no longer remain calm. When Chen Yixin was in a good mood, he could sweet-talk endlessly—but among their nine children, his temperament was the fiercest. Whatever he said, he meant.

Chen Yixin narrowed his eyes, lightly brushing his cheek against Wenren Li’s before finally straightening and looking toward Emperor Fengyuan and his mother and brothers. With a flick of his hand, a blue sword appeared in his grasp, and only then did he speak again.

“Father, have you not seen it? They chose this day deliberately to scheme against me.” As he spoke, his gaze swept across the surroundings, a mocking smile curling at his lips.

“Among all you Immortal Lords and Immortal Emperors, are there none who have subordinates that are demonic cultivators from the lower realms? Why is it that I alone am forbidden from marrying one?”

When he first found Wenren Li, he had been nothing more than a sentient seed, and Chen Yixin himself had not yet left his infant form nor gained the ability to transform. After two to three hundred thousand years together, no one understood Wenren Li better than he did.

If Wenren Li had been able to cultivate the techniques of the immortal or divine realms, Chen Yixin would never have gone to such lengths to obtain demonic cultivation methods for him. But to him, techniques were merely techniques. The tree spirit he had raised—whether Wenren Li was a demon or not—was determined by who he was, not by what he cultivated.

“A demonic cultivator? Would an ordinary demonic cultivator be rejected by the Heavenly Dao?” One of the Immortal Emperors, who had the most demonic cultivators under his command, spoke calmly—yet Chen Yixin’s words had likely struck closer to the truth than he wished to admit.

The Phoenix Divine Clan already had two Immortal Emperors—enough to dominate a region of the divine domain. If they gained another, especially one so young and full of potential, the balance of power—and the division of benefits—would no longer remain as before.

“A-Li of my family is simply extraordinary,” Chen Yixin replied unhurriedly. His gaze lowered, and with a sudden swing of his blue sword, its light flared brilliantly. The Immortal Emperors instinctively withdrew from the Burning Heaven Nether Palace. With Chen Yixin’s cultivation already at the half-step Immortal Emperor level, a full-force strike from him could injure even them—let alone ordinary Immortal Lords and Heavenly Immortals of lesser strength.

Yet Chen Yixin had merely activated the array of the Burning Heaven Nether Palace. To him, allowing those people to remain within the palace for even a moment longer was already intolerable.

Once the Immortal Emperors withdrew, the other Immortal Lords had no choice but to retreat as well. However, Chen Yixin did not withdraw. He followed them out of the Burning Heaven Nether Palace, raising his sword as he hovered in midair, looking as though he was willing to stand against the entire world.

“If I don’t kill a few of you, I fear you’ll keep coveting the treasures of my Burning Heaven Nether Palace,” Chen Yixin said expressionlessly. Yet the meaning behind his words was unmistakably clear. With so many people scheming against him, he refused to believe it was solely because of Wenren Li’s identity—there was undoubtedly greed involved.

Suddenly recalling something, Chen Yixin turned his head toward the Phoenix Empress. “Mother, grant me one request.”

“Speak, Jiu’er,” the Phoenix Empress replied, clutching Emperor Fengyuan’s hand tightly. Watching her son be targeted by so many, she suppressed her fury to the point of internal injury. Yet as the Empress of her clan, she could not act solely as a mother.

“If A-Li and I are both gone, then everything within the Burning Heaven Nether Palace—every blade of grass and every tree—must be destroyed. It must not fall into anyone else’s hands.”

In other words, anyone who took even a single leaf from the palace would face the Phoenix clan’s relentless pursuit to the death.

“Agreed,” the Phoenix Empress answered. Immediately after, she was pulled away by the dark-faced Emperor Fengyuan. Even now, he refused to believe that anyone would dare attempt to take Chen Yixin’s life under his watch.

Chen Yixin’s life, he would undoubtedly protect—but Wenren Li’s was another matter.

Yet to Chen Yixin, that was no different from taking Wenren Li’s life—and thus his own as well. His earlier words had not only been meant for Wenren Li, but also for his family. Emperor Fengyuan’s act of pulling the Empress away made their stance clear.

Chen Yixin pressed his lips together. His expression did not change, but the spiritual glow of the blue sword in his hand grew brighter.

This battle was inevitable.

Chen Yixin hovered in the air, waiting for nearly two hours before an Immortal Lord of the same half-step Immortal Emperor level stepped forward, claiming it was merely a spar.

“This Lord does not spar—I kill. If you fear death, you’d best step back.”

The moment Chen Yixin finished speaking, the other party charged forward. Though it appeared reckless, it was in perfect accordance with his Dao of cultivation.

As two half-step Immortal Emperors clashed, the gathered immortals retreated once more. Golden light and blue light collided, and the power of their techniques was earth-shaking. Even Immortal Lords felt a tremor of fear. The two Immortal Lords who had previously blocked Chen Yixin and Wenren Li could not help but feel lingering dread—had Chen Yixin erupted at that moment, they might truly have lost their lives.

Surrounded by blue flames, Chen Yixin was both offense and defense embodied. Even this battle-hardened half-step Immortal Emperor was no match for him. With a clear phoenix cry, the opponent faltered for a brief instant—and in that instant, Chen Yixin broke through space, appearing at his side. With a single strike, his sword pierced through the sea of consciousness. The blue flames brushed past, and even an immortal’s body was burned into nothingness.

A storage accessory appeared in Chen Yixin’s hand. Without even glancing at it, he casually tossed it back into the Burning Heaven Nether Palace for Yinzi to sort through.

Chen Yixin’s first display of power was so overwhelming that it left everyone deeply shaken. Even long after that immortal had perished in both body and soul, many still could not fully react. Those who had originally intended to step forward found themselves forced to reconsider.

Yet in every era, there were many who reached the half-step Immortal Emperor level—only a rare few ultimately became true Immortal Emperors. Chen Yixin’s reputation and potential had been exaggerated to near-mythical levels, but there were still many who believed they could surpass him.

Moreover, even if they did not fight now, they would inevitably have to face him in battle in the future. Fear could not be allowed to take root—once one’s state of mind faltered, how could one continue cultivating, let alone advance? What should have been an ascension battle for the Immortal Emperor realm millions of years later had been forced to begin ahead of time.

Whoever dared step forward, Chen Yixin showed no mercy. Regardless of their lineage or background in the Upper Realm, if he could kill them, he did. Yet not all of them were merely empty names—there were battles where even Chen Yixin found himself pressed to the limit, forced to exhaust every method, even reverting to his true form before finally killing them.

Another phoenix cry rang out as Chen Yixin once again transformed into his true form. His fierce momentum did not diminish in the slightest. With just a few feathers, he struck down the most outstanding descendant of a long-established immortal clan.

At that moment, Wenren Li flew out from the Burning Heaven Nether Palace, catching Chen Yixin—who had reverted to his phoenix form—in his arms. He knew that Chen Yixin was already beginning to falter. No matter how powerful he was, he could not withstand such relentless, near-encircling assaults.

“Monster! If you are willing to die yourself, then Lord Yi would not need to continue fighting like this for you!”

Wenren Li tightened his hold on the struggling little phoenix and turned to look at the Immortal Emperor who had spoken, his expression calm yet resolute. “I have never harmed a single being in the Upper Realm. I have committed no evil. I do not deserve to be called a monster.”

In order to allow him to cultivate smoothly, Chen Yixin had gone to great lengths—searching across the Upper Realm for divine waters, even venturing into forbidden zones to gather soil. His growth had required none of the slaughter others assumed.

Yet today, people who had never known him labeled him again and again as a “monster” and “demonic aberration.”

He had never needed to kill before. But now, if he wished to protect his Dao companion, that could no longer remain the case. If Chen Yixin could slay gods and immortals for him, then he could do the same.

The small phoenix in Wenren Li’s arms radiated blue light as Chen Yixin returned to human form, still leaning against him. His expression was calm, without the slightest regret for his actions. The title of Immortal Emperor had never been his goal—what he wanted was simply a free and unrestrained life with Wenren Li.

But just as demonic energy began to stir within Wenren Li, Chen Yixin’s fingertip pressed gently against his glabella.

“Not yet.”

To him, Wenren Li was no different from any other being in the Upper Realm—even if he truly was a demon, it made no difference. When Wenren Li had first come into being, he understood nothing. Chen Yixin himself had understood nothing either. Yet together, they had learned what it meant to love. Having emotions made them no different from any other living being.

“So what if it’s demonic energy? I’ll cleanse it.”

As Chen Yixin spoke, he covered Wenren Li’s eyes. Wenren Li froze for a moment, unable to resist as he slipped into unconsciousness. Then, Chen Yixin sliced his own wrist. Divine blood flowed forth, pouring directly into Wenren Li’s body.

“Jiu’er!” one of Chen Yixin’s brothers cried out, his voice trembling, his body barely steady. For the Phoenix Divine Clan, even a single drop of blood was an exceedingly precious treasure of the Upper Realm. At the same time, losing even one drop required years to recover—and losing too much would damage one’s lifespan.

Yet after fighting to this point, Chen Yixin had already regarded himself as a lone divine being without kin. Not only did he not stop, he continued pouring his blood into Wenren Li, his voice soft as he coaxed gently:

“A-Li, don’t be afraid. My blood will never harm you in the slightest.”

To overcome the present crisis, continuing to fight endlessly was not a solution. Weren’t they claiming that Wenren Li was a demon, that he must be eradicated? Now that Chen Yixin had cleansed the demonic energy from Wenren Li’s body, what “demon” was there left to eliminate?

Yet Wenren Li’s fear was never for himself—he was worried for Chen Yixin, pained for him. What right did he have to let Chen Yixin sacrifice himself to such an extent?

Wenren Li’s cultivation had always been affected by the aura of the Immortal Realm, and his progress had never been as rapid as Chen Yixin’s. At this moment, no matter how unwilling he was, he could not resist. Chen Yixin forcibly subjected him to the baptism of divine blood.

Blue flames surged into the sky, divine light spread in all directions, and thunder roared. Such a defiance of the heavens—only Chen Yixin would dare to attempt it, and only he, the Divine Son of the ancient Phoenix Divine Clan, could accomplish it.

Gradually, the thunder subsided. The aura surrounding Wenren Li had almost completely transformed, while Chen Yixin’s face turned deathly pale—he had shed nearly all the blood he could. Yet the change within Wenren Li was not as simple as demonic energy turning into immortal energy. The spiritual power he had cultivated in the past was undergoing a strange transformation, as though something was about to awaken—or perhaps something long dormant was reviving.

Sensing this change, Chen Yixin swept his hand over Wenren Li. His human form disappeared, transforming into a small tree. The demonic energy had vanished, but this alone was not enough to complete the transformation.

With another tap, the small tree became a black seed. Without hesitation, Chen Yixin pressed it into his own chest. His expression turned even paler.

“Father, Mother—remember this. Everything I have given A-Li was given willingly by me… and forced by them.”

If there was to be blame, it should not fall upon A-Li, but upon these so-called righteous immortals standing before them.

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