“Junior Brother?” Peng Jing asked Han Zichuan, concern appearing in his expression. They had come here intending to establish themselves as the people who would support and assist Chen Yixin, but Chen Yixin was clearly nothing like Jing Zhihua. He did not trust the Tianji Sect in the slightest, much less value them anywhere near as much as his Dao companion, Wenren Li.
“There’s no hurry.” As Han Zichuan spoke, he too walked out through the gates of the Yuding Sect.
After everything he had experienced these past few times, he finally understood what he had missed. The Chen Yixin of today was completely different from the man he had been a hundred years ago. He had endured suffering and calamities beyond what ordinary people could imagine, and in doing so had forged the Dao heart he now possessed, one that was approaching perfection.
Chen Yixin did not want to rely on the Tianji Sect, and even the Likui Demon Palace was something he would only draw upon to a limited extent. This was the true mentality of the strong; this was the resolve of a divine scion with the courage to start over and cultivate his way back to godhood.
Han Zichuan had not gone far before Yun Yazi, who had finally recovered from his shock, blocked his path. Chen Yixin had been present earlier, so Yun Yazi had held himself back. Now there was no longer any need. “Sect Master Han, you intend to leave without giving me an explanation?”
“Even if I told you, what could you possibly undo?”
Han Zichuan paused. His expression was resolute, showing no regret. But did he truly have none? He had a feeling that in the days ahead, this emotion that came perilously close to regret would only grow stronger.
If his trial of love had involved only Chen Yixin, then severing it would have been the end of the matter. But Chen Yixin was the divine scion. Had Han Zichuan severed the Tianji Sect’s path to immortality along with it?
“Look forward instead. You… were his master, after all.”
Yun Yazi was, in the end, someone Chen Yixin had once regarded as half a father, someone he had trusted more than almost anyone. To Chen Yixin, Yun Yazi had once been undeniably special. Perhaps that bond had not been completely extinguished.
“Too late. It’s all too late. Hahaha…”
But Yun Yazi knew Chen Yixin better than Han Zichuan did. Desolation spread across his face, and his laughter sounded almost like weeping as it gradually faded into the distance. No one in the Yuding Sect could comfort him now, because whether more or less intensely, they all felt much the same.
Once, they had all been among the people closest to the divine scion. Yet they had personally pushed him away—and pushed him so far there was no longer any way to bring him back.
It took three days at an unhurried pace to travel from the Yuding Sect to Zhenhai City on the edge of the North Sea. Only a hundred Demon Guards remained with them; Chen Yixin had sent the rest back to the Southern Territory. They had also changed flying artifacts. Since they were returning to Zhenhai, they did not want to attract too much attention.
By now, Chen Yixin’s identity had spread throughout nearly the entire Taixuan cultivation world. Whether it was people coming to flatter him or people hoping to kill him, he had little interest in entertaining either kind.
Without alerting anyone, they flew straight to Little Bamboo Islet north of Zhenhai, the small island that even now still belonged solely to Chen Yixin.
Chen Yixin carried Wenren Li into the small bamboo house and set him down on the bed. Then he leaned in, rubbed his cheek against Wenren Li’s, and called softly, “A-Li…”
After living together for so long, how could Wenren Li not know what Chen Yixin wanted when he called him that way? His hand caught Chen Yixin’s, and with one pull, he toppled him onto the bed. At the same time, Wenren Li returned to his adult form, silver hair spilling over his shoulders like a waterfall, his body wrapped in nothing but a thin sleeping robe.
Chen Yixin cupped Wenren Li’s face in both hands and covered it with enthusiastic mwah, mwah, mwah kisses.
He pecked Wenren Li on the lips again, then invited him with faintly flushed cheeks, “I want A-Li.”
Wenren Li removed his hand from Chen Yixin’s waist and swept it outward, putting up a barrier. At the same time, Chen Yixin, worried they would not have enough time to be intimate, made his clothes vanish on his own, leaving himself completely bare.
“We need to hurry.”
“All right.” Wenren Li’s throat tightened slightly as he answered in a low voice. Then he lowered his head and kissed Chen Yixin’s overly red lips, lingering and entangling with him as though they meant to draw out each other’s souls.
Chen Yixin’s breathing gradually grew faster, the soft sounds escaping through his nose both passionate and alluring. At first he still remembered that they needed to finish quickly, but Wenren Li’s kisses felt too good. Before long, Chen Yixin forgot all about the urgency and gave himself over completely.
“A-Li… A-Li…”
“I’m here.” Wenren Li answered Chen Yixin’s soft calls and pressed a kiss between his brows. Then his divine soul entered Chen Yixin’s sea of consciousness. Their bodies joined, their divine souls mingled, and they possessed and marked each other completely.
The barrier Wenren Li had set up was only meant to keep Nan Ke and the others from barging in. He was too overcome with emotion to conceal the aura spilling from him. Nan Ke and the others had already seen enough strange things that they showed no surprise at the plants growing wildly around them, though Nan Ke still sent people to the site of Chen Yixin’s cenotaph to make sure the vegetation did not swallow that area as well.
Otherwise, when the two finally finished being intimate and came out intending to visit the grave, only to discover there was no grave left to visit, that would count as a failure on Nan Ke’s part.
What was strange, however, was that the bamboo and other vegetation on Little Bamboo Islet did not grow particularly wildly this time. They merely became greener and more luxuriant. What truly spread out of control was a kind of blue flower. It bloomed across the mountains and fields, even pushing out from cracks between the rocks along the beach.
Nan Ke was a Nascent Soul cultivator who had grown up in the Demon Palace and traveled to many places while carrying out missions, yet he had never seen this kind of blue flower anywhere in Taixuan. Each blossom was about half the size of a palm, blooming brilliantly and carrying a faint, pleasant fragrance. Even with the flowers covering the entire island, their scent was not so strong as to become cloying.
Little Bamboo Islet had become even more beautiful than before. Nan Ke had the Demon Guards clear only the area around the grave and leave everything else untouched.
Their lovemaking continued until evening, and Wenren Li still had not changed back. Chen Yixin stared at him with delighted fascination. Despite his slightly sore and weak body, he continued clinging to Wenren Li, touching his face, stroking his hair, rubbing himself against him—and clearly wanting more.
“Why don’t we go for a walk?” Wenren Li draped clothes over himself, then took Chen Yixin’s garments and dressed him as well. At the same time, his spiritual power flowed into Chen Yixin’s body, and the faint discomfort Chen Yixin had been feeling disappeared completely.
“All right.” Chen Yixin nodded. It had been quite a while since he had taken a walk with Wenren Li in this form.
“Whoa…” The moment the door opened, Chen Yixin let out an exclamation. The scenery before him was so beautiful that it exceeded anything he had imagined. He turned toward Wenren Li, his eyes curving as a smile tugged at his lips. Wenren Li had obviously wanted to bring him outside precisely so he could see Chen Yixin react like this.
Chen Yixin pressed his lips together again, but in the end he could not hold himself back. He stopped pretending to be reserved, released Wenren Li’s hand, walked a few steps ahead, turned back to glance at him—and then abruptly broke into a run and disappeared.
Wenren Li’s expression softened. Seeing this unexpectedly shy reaction from Chen Yixin made the corners of his own lips lift as well. He did not immediately chase after him. Instead, he bent slightly and held a hand over the blue flowers in full bloom.
“Phoenix Flowers.” The strange land inside the Fentian Nether Abode had also been filled with these flowers. They should count as Chen Yixin’s companion flowers; wherever he lived, they would slowly bloom even without anyone planting them.
Chen Yixin stood in front of his own grave marker, looking back every so often. Only after a long while did he finally see Wenren Li approaching at an unhurried pace. He went forward and pulled him over, complaining as he tugged him along, “Why are you walking so slowly?”
Wenren Li did not argue. He obediently let Chen Yixin pull him forward, his gaze settling on the grave marker as well.
“A-Li doesn’t like it?” Chen Yixin looked back and suddenly felt the grave marker was rather inauspicious too. He was very much alive, yet he had erected a cenotaph for himself.
“No. I just think it looks too lonely.” Wenren Li stepped forward another two paces and swept his palm downward toward the grave marker. The single large inscription on the stone became two lines. Beside “The Tomb of Chen Yixin, the Beauty Who Toppled Taixuan” appeared another inscription: “Dao Companion Wenren Li.”
Wenren Li searched through his storage ring, found an old set of clothes, and placed them together with the old garments Chen Yixin had buried there.
Chen Yixin had already been moved once by the flowers covering the mountains and fields, and now Wenren Li’s actions moved him all over again. This time he did not run. He threw himself into Wenren Li’s arms and hugged his waist tightly. “A-Li is my tree. You’ll always be my tree.”
“All right.” Wenren Li hugged Chen Yixin back and stroked his hair. They remained there in the fading glow of sunset, standing together from dusk until the sky filled with stars.
“How can A-Li stay like this for so long this time?” Chen Yixin was referring to how long Wenren Li could maintain his adult form. Then he added regretfully, “If I’d known, we should’ve stayed inside longer…”
When the heart was stirred, desire followed. Chen Yixin had never been ashamed of his own desires.
Wenren Li’s hand paused in Chen Yixin’s hair before he lifted Chen Yixin into his arms. He did not head toward the small bamboo house, however, but toward the field of Phoenix Flowers ahead. Wherever he walked, the Phoenix Flowers continued to grow. Their stems and leaves intertwined, layering over one another until they formed a bed of flowers. Low walls of vines and blossoms rose around the bed, eventually taking shape as a small flower house.
The Phoenix Flowers swayed in the breeze, releasing faintly glowing pollen. With thousands upon thousands of flowers blooming at once, their soft luminescence gathered into enough light for the two of them to see each other clearly. Chen Yixin wrapped his arms around Wenren Li’s neck and obediently let himself be laid down upon the flower bed.
Everything around them was beautiful, even more beautiful than it had been at dusk, but Chen Yixin still could not tear his gaze away from the man in front of him. He studied Wenren Li carefully. No matter how many times he had already memorized this face, at this moment he still wanted to learn every detail all over again.
“A-Li…” Chen Yixin called softly, only for Wenren Li to press a finger against his lips.
“The Phoenix Flowers will sing for A-Rong too. Listen carefully.”
Chen Yixin blinked, but had absolutely no intention of obeying. He lifted his face and pressed his slightly pouted lips against Wenren Li’s, kissing him softly and licking at him gently. His eyes narrowed with unmistakable desire.
A moment of the spring night was worth a thousand pieces of gold. The song could wait until tomorrow. What mattered right now was that Chen Yixin wanted Wenren Li again.
Chen Yixin’s meaning could not possibly have been clearer. Wenren Li’s plan to help him contemplate the Six Fentian Arts had no choice but to be postponed. The Six Arts were important, but they were still not as important as making sure his Demon Consort was properly “fed.”
On a softly glowing flower bed, with Chen Yixin before him so openly and passionately aroused, Wenren Li probably would not have been able to restrain himself for long even if he had tried to follow his original plan.
When life offered joy, one should enjoy it to the fullest. The future was too distant; only by holding tightly to the present could one truly live without regret.
In the end, Chen Yixin fell asleep in Wenren Li’s arms at the height of pleasure. He had a dream filled with cheerful songs and a tree he loved, while he himself was a restless little bird, singing, dancing, and sleeping with his tree.
When Chen Yixin woke again, they had already returned from the flower house in the field to the small bamboo house. Wenren Li had dressed him, while the man who had spent the previous night entwined with him had once more become a little child, sitting solemnly beside his bed and keeping watch.
“A-Rong is awake.”
Wenren Li had barely finished speaking when Chen Yixin, whose eyes were not even fully open, scooped him onto the bed. Enthusiastic kisses rained down, followed by squeezing and cuddling. Chen Yixin lazed in bed hugging Wenren Li for quite a while longer before finally getting up and going outside.
The glowing Little Bamboo Islet from the night before had already attracted the attention of cultivators in Zhenhai City. Because of the barrier, and because no one knew what had caused the strange phenomenon on the island, nobody had dared force their way inside. Even so, more and more spirit boats had gathered around the islet.
Naturally, some of them belonged to members of the Chen clan. Not long after Chen Yixin came out of the house, Nan Ke arrived to report that the old steward had requested an audience.
“Let him in.”
Chen Yixin naturally remembered the old steward. He sat on a long bench and shamelessly let Wenren Li feed him water, then glanced sideways. It was still the same old steward from years ago, only much more aged than before.
“Great-Uncle, it really is you.” The old steward looked visibly emotional. He bowed, decided that was not enough, then dropped to his knees and paid his respects.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’d come back to visit the grave when I had time.”
After saying that, Chen Yixin turned back and continued drinking the spiritual spring water Wenren Li held to his lips. He smacked his lips lightly. “Go back and tell the old man I’ll return to the residence tomorrow. Also, have my room cleaned properly. Little A-Hua and I are going to stay there for a few days.”
“Yes.” The old steward wiped at the corners of his eyes, making no attempt to hide his happiness.
Chen Yixin found him pleasing enough, so he was generous. With a toss of his hand, a bottle of pills landed in the old steward’s palm. “These are for you. Go into seclusion and cultivate properly, then keep guarding Little Bamboo Islet for me.”
“Yes.”
The old steward was so happy he no longer knew what to say. His hand trembled slightly around the porcelain bottle. He knelt again and solemnly knocked his forehead against the ground three times before finally leaving to deliver the message.
Chen Yixin watched him leave, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his lips. Then he tilted sideways and rested his head on Wenren Li’s small, somewhat bony shoulder. “They say Little Bamboo Islet is where I was born. My mother died less than three months after giving birth to me. The first time I came here after I was old enough to remember things, the old man brought me.”
Chen Yixin continued rambling about why he had returned. “The old man looks exactly like that guy from the Upper Realm. That can’t possibly be a coincidence…”
Even if Chen Yixin had seen his mother, he had been too young to remember what she looked like. But Father Chen had raised him until he was old enough to remember and only later sent him to the Yuding Sect. There was no possibility Chen Yixin had mistaken his appearance.
Chen Yixin called his father in this life “the old man” and his father in his previous life “that guy.” In his opinion, the fact that he had not simply called either of them by name already counted as showing plenty of respect.
“My mother probably didn’t really die either. Otherwise, the old man wouldn’t have gone through all these years without ever looking sad…”
As Chen Yixin spoke, he continued rubbing himself all over Wenren Li. He felt somewhat guilty for possibly having misunderstood Father Chen, yet he was also irritated at having been kept in the dark.
“Hmph. At least he didn’t lose his senses again and was willing to marry me to you.”
Wenren Li could not help smiling. He rubbed Chen Yixin’s hair, then paused and returned to his adult form, gathering the still-restlessly nuzzling Chen Yixin into his arms.
“The divine light from A-Rong’s tribulation and the immortal light from the Tianji Sect’s test both benefit me.” The divine light that had fallen over them that day had not actually dissipated. Wenren Li had absorbed it, which was why he had been able to remain in his adult form for so long the day before.
The moment Chen Yixin heard this, he wrapped both arms around Wenren Li’s neck and planted a loud kiss on his lips. “Then I’ll find lots more of it for you. I’m going to raise A-Li’s little sapling tall and strong and sturdy.”
“And when A-Li finally blooms, you’ll only bloom for me to see. All right?”
Even at the end of such a warm conversation, Chen Yixin still had to tease Wenren Li before he would let him off.
“All right.” Wenren Li nodded. If he was ever able to bloom, then of course he would bloom only for Chen Yixin, and only Chen Yixin would ever be allowed to see it.
Chen Yixin turned his head and blinked at Wenren Li. Then he leaned closer, his lips brushing lightly against Wenren Li’s. Their gazes met, and they exchanged a wet, sweet kiss.
When the kiss ended, Chen Yixin took Wenren Li’s hand and stood. They headed toward the flower house where they had spent the previous night. Chen Yixin had not forgotten that Wenren Li had wanted him to listen to the flowers sing.
Wenren Li sat on the flower bed while Chen Yixin sat on the ground among the flowers, resting his head against Wenren Li’s thigh as he listened.
“Why don’t the Phoenix Flowers inside the Fentian Nether Abode sing?” There was no night in the strange land within the Fentian Nether Abode, so they had never seen the spectacle from the previous evening. But the field of Phoenix Flowers there had felt like dead land and had never given Chen Yixin anything like the vibrant sense of life he felt here.
Wenren Li rested a hand on Chen Yixin’s hair and stroked it gently. After thinking for a moment, he answered, “Because that place was stained with A-Rong’s blood and tears.” The Phoenix Flowers had wept for him. How could they possibly sing?
The Phoenix Flowers covering Little Bamboo Islet, on the other hand, had bloomed because of their dual cultivation. Wenren Li could nurture all living things, and the place where Chen Yixin had been born naturally carried the seeds of his companion flowers. That was why the island had become what it was now.
Satisfied with the answer, Chen Yixin continued leaning against Wenren Li’s thigh. He closed his eyes and went on listening to the flowers sing.
Daylight faded. When night came, the island once again filled with tiny points of glowing light, breathtaking to behold. Chen Yixin rose from the ground, pulled Wenren Li outside the flower house, and smiled lightly. “I’ll dance for A-Li.”
After learning this technique in the Fentian Nether Abode, Chen Yixin rarely used it unless necessary. But now he wanted to dance for Wenren Li in this field of Phoenix Flowers, to make an already beautiful moment even more beautiful.
Wenren Li did not answer. Chen Yixin stepped back slightly and began to dance. His wide sleeves billowed like a phoenix spreading its wings, while the bells around his ankles chimed, each note seeming to ensnare the heart.
“Phoenix, phoenix, return to your homeland; roam the four seas in search of your mate.”
His steps quickened. Chen Yixin rose amid the glow of flowers and starlight, then gave Wenren Li a light tug and drew him up as well. Wenren Li turned, but saw only the edge of Chen Yixin’s long sleeve disappearing from view. After looking for him for a moment, he simply stopped moving.
The moment Wenren Li stopped, Chen Yixin came drifting back, stole two light kisses from his cheek, then retreated again. Wenren Li followed immediately and caught the man who was about to hide from him once more, pulling him into his arms.
“Beautiful.” Wenren Li wanted to say many words of praise, but he had never been particularly gifted with language. After thinking it over, nothing felt more direct than those two syllables, so he repeated them several more times. “Beautiful. Beautiful…”
What delighted Chen Yixin was not Wenren Li’s sparse vocabulary but the solemn, earnest expression with which he said it.
Chen Yixin stopped dancing. He rested his head against Wenren Li’s shoulder and let Wenren Li carry him back down into the flowers. Then he softly demanded, “From now on, A-Li can only watch me dance, and you can only say that I’m beautiful. Remember?”
If Chen Yixin was willing to dance for Wenren Li, then Wenren Li naturally had to watch only his dances.
“Mm.” Wenren Li agreed. To him, this did not even count as a demand. After seeing Chen Yixin dance, how could he possibly care about anyone else’s? No matter how beautiful another person’s dance might be, it would not belong to him. Only his A-Rong belonged to him, and A-Rong was the only one he wanted.
But the instant they landed, the petals of tens of thousands of Phoenix Flowers fell at once and flew into the sky. Threads of fragrant, glowing light gathered together and condensed into a pale blue pearl. Chen Yixin reached out, and the pearl settled into his palm.
He held it between his fingers for a moment, then pressed it against Wenren Li’s brow.
“A-Li doesn’t know this, but in all of Taixuan, I’m the only one who can gather immortal light for you. Do you like it?”
The Phoenix Flowers were one key, but Chen Yixin’s dance was even more important. Without either one, it would have been impossible for immortal light to gather into a condensed form like this anywhere in Taixuan. As Chen Yixin spoke, he smiled openly, making no effort to hide his happiness.
He was happy because he could do something for the person he loved that no one else could do.
“I like it.” The immortal light at Wenren Li’s brow had not yet been fully absorbed, but he did not immediately close his eyes to cultivate. His gaze remained on Chen Yixin’s smiling face. Then he lowered his head and kissed Chen Yixin gently and passionately on the lips.
“I like A-Rong.”
Chen Yixin’s heartbeat quickened beneath Wenren Li’s kiss and confession. The person who had been so bold and passionate just moments ago gradually softened within the kiss. He obediently let Wenren Li kiss him, obediently let himself be lifted, and then obediently let Wenren Li undress him. He accepted everything, and he was completely delighted to do so.
Unsurprisingly, after fooling around all night, Chen Yixin fell asleep near dawn and did not wake until noon. The people at the old Chen estate in Zhenhai had likewise waited for them for half the day. Father Chen shook his head helplessly and was just about to return inside to wait for news when the old steward came running in from outside, his face excited. “Great-Uncle is back.”
More precisely, Great-Uncle had returned with his man. Chen Yixin arrived with flushed cheeks and the traces of passion written plainly across his face. Anyone could see from a distance how genuinely happy he was. Whenever he was with Wenren Li, Chen Yixin had always been happy.
Even during those years in the Upper Realm when they were being hunted, with Wenren Li’s true body planted within his heart, Chen Yixin had never thought those days particularly bitter.
“Have everyone else leave. Tell him to come back to Wutong Courtyard.” Father Chen had already seen Chen Yixin from afar, but after giving the old steward this instruction, he turned around and headed back to Wutong Courtyard himself.
Chen Yixin had lived for more than a hundred and forty years, and the Chen clan had long since branched into many generations. Even the old steward addressed him as Great-Uncle, which showed how senior his generation had become. Chen Yixin had left home early and no longer recognized many people. Seeing how much the place and its people had changed did not make him especially sentimental, but neither did he have any desire for polite greetings. If he could avoid seeing everyone, all the better.
After hearing the old steward’s message, Chen Yixin continued holding Wenren Li’s hand as they walked into the inner residence. Wutong Courtyard belonged to their branch of the family, and the room Chen Yixin had once lived in was also there.
“Old man, I’m back.”
Chen Yixin called out from outside Wutong Courtyard before continuing inside with Wenren Li. Thanks to the immortal light condensed the previous night, Wenren Li could remain in his adult form for several more days.
Chen Yixin naturally adored little Wenren Li—he was cute and unbearably endearing. But when Chen Yixin wanted to be more intimate, that form was rather inconvenient. Having only recently tasted the pleasures of sex, Chen Yixin naturally preferred having the adult Wenren Li beside him.
Father Chen was at late Foundation Establishment and already more than a hundred and seventy years old, yet he looked no older than a middle-aged man—and a particularly handsome one at that. He sat in a rattan chair beneath the wutong tree. His gaze swept over the two of them once before withdrawing as he continued brewing tea.
Chen Yixin did not feel neglected in the slightest. This was his home, and he behaved with complete ease. He pulled Wenren Li down beside him, and the two squeezed together onto a single rattan chair, openly clinging to each other.
“What are you looking at? You only put out one chair, so of course A-Li and I have to sit together.”
If Father Chen expected Wenren Li to stand there watching while they talked, he ought to first consider whether his own son would be willing to let that happen.
The muscles in Father Chen’s face stiffened involuntarily. He raised his eyes and gave Wenren Li an undisguised glare, then suppressed his irritation and ladled the freshly brewed tea into white jade cups.
“A-Li, drink.” Chen Yixin did not even wait for Father Chen to serve them. He naturally took a cup and brought it to Wenren Li’s lips. “The old man’s only real talent is making tea.”
“Jiu’er…” Father Chen could not stop himself from reminding Chen Yixin that he was still sitting right in front of them. When had his own biological son started treating him as though he barely existed?
Hearing that, Chen Yixin shoved the cup into Wenren Li’s hands, turned toward Father Chen, met his suddenly wary gaze, and grew serious. “Jiu’er?”
Chen Yixin had always assumed Father Chen called him Jiu’er because of his ranking within the clan. But in the Abode Spirit’s memories, the Sovereign of the Phoenix Divine Clan had called him the same thing.
“What? Do you want your father to call you ‘Demon Consort’ like everyone else?” Father Chen’s tone sharpened as he spoke. Such a perfectly good son—why did he insist, lifetime after lifetime, on tying himself to a tree that never seemed to grow up?
“If you call me that, I’ll answer.”
Chen Yixin muttered this with absolutely no shame. He had never been afraid of Father Chen, even as a child. As he spoke, he even glanced somewhat bashfully at Wenren Li, looking for all the world like a son who had married out of the family and whose heart now belonged completely to his man.
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