Futile Devices Scans

Chen Yixin leaned forward again and placed a kiss upon Wenren Li’s lips. “In the future, A-Li, just love me well—that will be enough.”

What had happened in their past life could not simply be forgotten. As for those immortals who had driven them into such a desperate situation, there was no way he would let them go. Chen Yixin had already memorized each and every one of their faces. Whether he had taken revenge before or not, he intended to do so again.

Moreover, ten thousand years was but the blink of an eye to those immortals. When they met again, those people would surely not have forgotten him and Wenren Li.

Chen Yixin understood himself well, and thus knew that he would not have come to the Lower Realm without preparation. He must have made arrangements in the Upper Realm. Yet the palace spirit had said nothing of them—or perhaps, it simply could not comprehend his intentions and thus had nothing to say.

“Alright,” Wenren Li nodded. This was not merely something he ought to do—it was also what his heart truly desired.

The palace spirit, blatantly ignored by the two of them, showed no surprise—it had clearly experienced such treatment many times before. Floating above the blood pool, it began to seriously ponder the matter of the servant mark within Zhou Yan’s soul. It was certain that, back then, Chen Yixin had not brought any servants down to the lower realm.

In fact, not long after Chen Yixin had taken the Burning Heaven Nether Palace away, he had dismissed many of the living beings within it. In its memory, there had been no such person as Zhou Yan in the palace.

“Lord Li, could you let this old servant take a look at the jade slip?” Seeing that the two had finally stopped their intimacy, the palace spirit quickly spoke up.

Wenren Li had no objections. He took the jade slip from his storage space and let it float down before the palace spirit.

In but an instant, it shook its head. “This is not the Master’s jade slip. It likely belongs to the Emperor or the Phoenix Empress.”

The Burning Heaven Nether Palace had been one of the coming-of-age gifts given to Chen Yixin by the Phoenix Empress. It would not be strange for a jade slip to have been left within. Later, when the Phoenix Emperor Feng Yuan reinforced the palace, it was also possible that he had left behind one or two items.

Furthermore, the seven-character divine message regarding the Upper Realm Divine Son that had spread through Taixuan might well have been deliberately released by the Emperor to guide or protect Chen Yixin. At the same time, it was also possible that other immortals had done so, with the intention of locating him and eliminating him while he was still weak.

Seen this way, having Jing Zhihua serve as the apparent Divine Son was not necessarily a bad thing.

Without the memories of his past life, Chen Yixin felt almost no sense of belonging toward the Phoenix clan. After examining the jade slip, the palace spirit drew it into its hand and gently stroked it, probing it with its soul—but having passed through the cycle of reincarnation, all traces had been erased, leaving it unable to discern anything further.

“Whose it is doesn’t matter. Find a chance to kill Zhou Yan.”

Zhou Yan was merely at the late Golden Core stage. Even Chen Yixin himself could kill him, let alone Wenren Li, who was a Soul Transformation cultivator. For him, killing Zhou Yan would be effortless—but only if they could find Zhou Yan’s true body. Killing a puppet or avatar would be useless.

Wenren Li nodded, and they let the matter drop.

At that moment, the palace spirit submerged briefly into the blood pool. When it emerged, it brought out a bead and presented it to Chen Yixin.

“Master, with this, you can store away the Burning Heaven Nether Palace—including this small town.”

There were surely still parts of the Burning Heaven Nether Palace worth exploring. It was even possible that Chen Yixin had left behind clues for himself.

Chen Yixin accepted the bead. The palace spirit bowed slightly and was about to return to the ring to continue its slumber, but Chen Yixin covered the ring on his thumb.

“No rush. Tell me how to undo the seal within the jade pendant.”

The powerful dormant soul lay within that pendant. If he could undo its seals, he would learn of his past directly—far more clearly.

The palace spirit fell silent for a moment before answering, “It should require the restriction techniques from the Six Burning Heaven Arts. Only you can learn those techniques, and only you can undo this seal.”

“But this jade pendant must never fall into anyone else’s hands—other than you and your consort.”

“I understand,” Chen Yixin nodded. He had never expected that he would give it to the wrong person—and that a hundred years of devotion would have been misplaced.

The palace spirit returned to the ring and continued its slumber. Chen Yixin tapped the bead against the ring, and it embedded itself within. Only now did it become a truly complete ring capable of fully controlling the Burning Heaven Nether Palace.

Wenren Li wrapped an arm around Chen Yixin’s waist, bringing him back onto the streets of the small town, then leading him hand in hand back to their courtyard.

Chen Yixin carefully studied Wenren Li, feeling that he seemed to have something to say—but after waiting so long without hearing a word, he wondered if he had misunderstood again.

“A-Li…” Chen Yixin reached out and poked lightly at Wenren Li’s back, calling softly.

“Mm?” Wenren Li responded, leading Chen Yixin straight into the room, guiding him toward the bed.

Chen Yixin pressed his lips together, a hint of anticipation appearing in his eyes. He obediently allowed himself to be led onto the bed, then into Wenren Li’s embrace. Blinking, he waited for what would come next—but after a full quarter of an hour, this blockhead was still simply holding him.

“A-Li…”

Chen Yixin hinted again, turning his head and blinking at him. If Wenren Li still didn’t understand, then today he wouldn’t let him touch him at all.

“I’m here,” Wenren Li replied, gently stroking Chen Yixin’s hair. Yet he was troubled by a serious and necessary question—he did not know what it meant to properly love Chen Yixin.

“You blockhead,” Chen Yixin finally gave up waiting for him to take the initiative. Shifting slightly, he climbed onto Wenren Li’s lap and, without giving him time to react, lowered his head and kissed him.

He had already hinted so clearly, yet Wenren Li still showed no reaction—it was truly infuriating.

The result of Chen Yixin’s frustration was a fierce kiss, as if trying to make Wenren Li understand his near-embarrassed annoyance through it. After the kiss, he muttered his dissatisfaction.

“What were you thinking about? At a moment like this, how can you be thinking of anything else… You should be responding enthusiastically to me.”

Wenren Li held Chen Yixin’s waist and lay back with him on the bed, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. “Does this count as loving A-Rong properly?”

“Of course,” Chen Yixin nodded, faintly realizing that Wenren Li had been seriously thinking about something. His cheeks flushed slightly, and he reflected that he might have been a bit unreasonable.

“As long as A-Li stays with me properly, that counts as loving me well.” He gently pinched Wenren Li’s cheek, then leaned in to tease him again with another kiss, leaving a faint flush before finally stopping.

“Then A-Rong is the same. A-Rong must also be well,” Wenren Li said. The memory of Chen Yixin exhausting his divine blood and origin essence for him in their past life was something he would never allow to happen again. Holding Chen Yixin, he turned over, shifting their positions.

“Then… is A-Rong willing to dual cultivate with me?”

Wenren Li asked directly. At this stage, dual cultivation was the fastest way to increase their strength. While Chen Yixin was not suited for rapid growth in spiritual power, strengthening his soul brought only benefits.

Of course, the urgency in his question also came from the feelings stirred by Chen Yixin’s teasing. Still, they had only just spent a month in dual cultivation—was it appropriate to continue so soon?

Chen Yixin rolled his eyes elegantly, then looked at him with mild exasperation. “Why are you so dense, A-Li? My entire body is saying yes, yet you insist on making me say it out loud…”

Before he could finish complaining, Wenren Li’s kiss fell like a storm, cutting off his grievance.

After the kiss ended, Chen Yixin finally softened somewhat. In truth, he very much enjoyed such intimacy with Wenren Li—but thinking deeper, it also felt somewhat frustrating.

In their past life, they had married but never even reached their wedding night before being disrupted by the immortals. In this life, they had fallen just short of completing the ceremony in the Burning Heaven Nether Palace, and then lost another hundred years.

His current urgency came from not wanting to miss out again. He wanted to engrave Wenren Li into both body and soul—to imprint their feelings upon each other. This time, he would leave no regrets.

Perhaps it was Chen Yixin’s initiative that stirred Wenren Li, or perhaps Wenren Li had always wanted this as well. Everything unfolded naturally—kisses, the shedding of garments, tender touches, until their bodies joined and their souls intertwined. At the height of love, words were no longer enough; only this could express it.

Wenren Li kissed Chen Yixin with near reverence, committing every inch of him to memory. Seeing the emotions Chen Yixin could no longer suppress, he smiled faintly. If Chen Yixin could move him once, he could move him again.

Chen Yixin had chosen him—and in the same way, Wenren Li had chosen Chen Yixin.

They belonged to one another. No one else could ever come between them.

The households in the small town had only just finished clearing away the wildly overgrown vegetation. Before they could even rest for an hour, they discovered that the plants had begun to grow wildly once more—and showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Everyone looked up at the sky for a moment, then gave up on clearing what remained. As long as it didn’t grow into their homes, they would let the courtyards be. Even if they cleared it today, who knew when it would grow rampant again?

As for Nan Ke and the others at the town god’s temple, they had long since grown accustomed to such things. They continued calmly with their respective tasks.

“A-Li is not a demon.”

After two hours of passionate entanglement, Chen Yixin lay against Wenren Li’s chest, savoring the lingering sensations within both body and soul. Then he spoke softly.

Wenren Li lowered his gaze to look at him. Chen Yixin shifted upward, nestling closer against his neck before continuing, “A-Li is not a demon. True demons are meant for destruction—but A-Li can love me, and even nurture the growth of plants. That is not something a demon could do.”

The so-called “innate demonic fetus” was merely a label given by others. In his eyes, A-Li was not such a thing. And what did being rejected by the Heavenly Dao really prove? Perhaps it was simply the Dao itself being unreasonable.

“A-Li’s soul is the purest I have ever felt. That has nothing to do with whether he carries demonic energy or not.”

There was something else Chen Yixin did not say: even if Wenren Li had once been a demon, he had already been changed—and thus was no longer one.

“Then what am I?” Wenren Li asked softly, his hand gently stroking Chen Yixin’s bare back. Even he himself had no answer. With elements of human, spirit, and other forms coexisting within him—what exactly was he?

“You are my beloved,” Chen Yixin replied, kissing Wenren Li’s earlobe. More certain than ever, he added, “Just remember what I’ve told you, A-Li. You don’t need to care about what those people say.”

Chen Yixin had always been a straightforward person. Now that he had come to understand the entanglements of their past and present lives, he became even more open—and even more passionate.

“Mm,” Wenren Li nodded. He had never been someone easily swayed by external opinions. He gently kissed Chen Yixin’s forehead. This time, without waiting for Chen Yixin to take the lead, he continued their dual cultivation, holding him in the same position.

In truth, of the three times they joined, at most two counted as true dual cultivation; the other was simply unrestrained intimacy. Though somewhat wasteful, Chen Yixin was willing—and Wenren Li indulged him.

This time, their closeness lasted for half a day before ending. Together, they rose into the air above the town. With a light wave of the hand bearing the ring, Chen Yixin stored away the small town, the forest, and the Burning Heaven Nether Palace, which now remained only as a narrow exit passage. There were likely still quite a few people trapped inside.

Chen Yixin gently touched the ring, a faint smile curving his lips. “Now we can just go home and wait to collect the ransom.”

If he didn’t take a hefty sum from the righteous sects, then all the benefits they had gained within his Burning Heaven Nether Palace would have been for nothing.

“There is one more thing A-Rong has forgotten,” Wenren Li said. Seeing Chen Yixin smiling so contentedly, his own expression softened. He held Chen Yixin and flew into the red bridal sedan they had arrived in, only then giving his answer.

“We’re going home… to get married.”

This time, no one would be able to stop them—no one could prevent them from being together openly and rightfully.

“Alright,” Chen Yixin replied. The brief confusion and soft smile on his face vanished as he tried to compose himself—but within moments, his eyes curved into a delighted grin again. He threw himself into Wenren Li’s arms, cupping his face and peppering him with kisses.

It had to be said—sometimes Chen Yixin’s instincts were very much like those of a bird.

And just as he himself had once said—

A bird resting upon a tree was only natural.

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