The kiss was gentle, yet impossible to ignore. Chen Yixin’s eyes widened slightly, then narrowed again.
With his foot still caught in Wenren Li’s hand, he leaned forward, intending to return the kiss to the top of Wenren Li’s head. But just as he was about to reach him, Wenren Li lifted his face.
The kiss that had been meant for his hair therefore landed on Wenren Li’s lips instead. It was only a light kiss, yet Chen Yixin could not help lingering and rubbing his nose against Wenren Li’s. Then an especially soft call slipped from between his lips. “A-Li…”
“Mm…” Wenren Li’s answering voice was just as low. He finally released Chen Yixin’s ankle and placed a hand on his shoulder, slowly straightening so Chen Yixin would not have to lean down so awkwardly.
He gently gathered Chen Yixin into his arms. Chen Yixin, however, was clearly more impatient. Even so, he was not someone who would disregard everything just for sex, so he asked with some regret, “It’s not convenient right now, is it?”
Their ship had not yet left dangerous Mingfeng Domain, and outside were four Merfolk Sea Clan cultivators still waiting to be dealt with. If the two of them truly ignored everything else, that would be a little unreasonable. That was why, although Wenren Li clearly wanted him too, he had done nothing more than hold him.
Wenren Li was silent for a long while before finally answering Chen Yixin’s question. “I don’t want them knowing what A-Rong and I do together.”
Even Chen Yixin’s bare foot being exposed was enough to make Wenren Li want to take his irritation out on others. The thought that anyone might use what they heard to fantasize about Chen Yixin was even more intolerable. Ordinarily, Wenren Li was not someone who worried about things like this. His current state had been entirely provoked by Chen Yixin nearly appearing naked in front of everyone earlier.
“It’s better if they know. A-Li belongs to me inside and out!”
As he spoke, Chen Yixin possessively wrapped both arms around Wenren Li’s waist and lifted his legs as well, clinging tightly around him. In his opinion, it would be best if the Great Peng Yao Emperor knew too, and then gave up on Wenren Li completely.
The more Chen Yixin thought about it, the more convinced he became that this was exactly how it should be. He poked Wenren Li in the back. “Any other concerns?”
“No.” This time Wenren Li answered immediately. Outside, including the Merfolk Sea Clan cultivators, there were six Soul Transformation experts. If even that many could not get them safely through Mingfeng Domain, then there would not be much point in Wenren Li and Chen Yixin going outside anyway.
Before Wenren Li’s final syllable had even faded, Chen Yixin hooked his legs around him and dragged him down onto the bed. Enthusiastic kisses covered Wenren Li’s face while Chen Yixin began stripping off his clothes. At the same time, the cloak that had been covering Chen Yixin slid from his abdomen to below his thighs. Now he was truly naked.
“A-Li, I want you.”
Chen Yixin kissed Wenren Li hard and said it a little louder. He had already been abstaining for far too long. He could not endure another day or two. Right now he wanted to “devour” Wenren Li and keep going until he was finally satisfied.
Wenren Li did not answer. He pressed a hand to the back of Chen Yixin’s head and pulled the lips that had left him back again. Light kisses became deep ones, until their whole bodies grew hot and desire had completely taken hold. Only then did they finally separate, both breathing heavily.
“All right.” Only after kissing him thoroughly did Wenren Li answer. Then he took Chen Yixin with him and rolled farther and farther into the bed.
The treasure ship continued onward, surrounded on every side by endless seawater. There were some aquatic plants beneath the surface, but because Mingfeng Domain itself was so strange, not many of them were affected by Wenren Li’s aura.
Yet Mingfeng Domain, where no one had ever heard of rain, began to receive one light shower after another. At the same time, the strange winds and waves disappeared around them, leaving the journey so peaceful it made people doubt their own eyes.
Nan Ke raised a hand to feel the rain. The Demon Guards were no strangers to weather like this. Back in Yanzhou, rain had fallen continuously for an entire month. This had only been three days.
“Stop. Without a summons from the Demon Lord, none of you are permitted to enter.”
Nan Ke blocked two merfolk cultivators from walking any farther. Given their new status as Wenren Li’s servants, his authority as Demon Guard Captain unquestionably outranked theirs. Besides, when their Demon Lord and Demon Consort were being intimate, how could anyone be allowed to interrupt them?
The two merfolk stared at the expressionless Nan Ke for a moment before finally turning away.
On the fourth day, Chen Yixin and Wenren Li finally emerged from their cabin. Wenren Li still had silver hair falling to his waist and wore black as usual. Chen Yixin, however, had changed into a blue treasure robe, while the three feathers atop his forehead stood upright and trembled slightly with each step.
Chen Yixin was beautiful enough that anything looked good on him, but this treasure robe gave him an air of nobility even greater than usual. The three feathers on his forehead, meanwhile, lent him an almost bewitchingly yao-like quality. The contradiction somehow remained perfectly harmonious. Calling him “the Beauty Who Toppled Taixuan” was no longer enough. He ought to be called “the Bewitching Menace Who Toppled Taixuan.”
When the two walked out hand in hand like this, they truly gave the impression of divine beings descending into the mortal world. Even the Demon Guards could not help looking at them a little longer.
Chen Yixin lifted his hand and touched the feathers on his forehead again. The corners of his lips rose, making his smile brighter and his face even more beautiful.
“A-Da, where are we? We’ve already passed through Mingfeng Domain, haven’t we?”
As he spoke, Chen Yixin looked outside. The sea was perfectly calm, even more peaceful than during the first month after they set out.
“Reporting to the Demon Consort, judging by the distance remaining, we still need one more day.”
Nan Ke answered, then finally and properly withdrew his gaze. In his heart, Chen Yixin’s status as Demon Consort of the Demon Palace always outweighed everything else, including his excessively beautiful and seductive appearance.
Chen Yixin nodded and stopped making things difficult for Nan Ke. He took Wenren Li’s hand and continued strolling around the deck. He had been thoroughly satisfied, and his excellent mood was obvious to anyone with eyes. His reason for parading Wenren Li around was equally obvious.
Look. This is my man. My man alone. Nobody else should even think about coveting him. Chen Yixin wanted to flaunt him. He wanted everyone to see.
Wenren Li let himself be dragged along the entire way. If Chen Yixin was happy, his own mood naturally would not be bad either. Once Chen Yixin had strolled enough, Wenren Li finally guided him to sit on a cushioned couch along one side of the deck.
Wenren Li lifted a hand and touched the feathers on Chen Yixin’s forehead. He kept stroking them until Chen Yixin’s eyes turned watery, and only then did he let him go. Clearly, those feathers were extremely special and sensitive to Chen Yixin, perhaps a symbol of his identity—or perhaps something more.
“How did you figure out how to change back?” Wenren Li felt that ‘changed back’ wasn’t quite accurate; it was more of a conversion—a conversion between bloodlines. That Chen Yixin had managed it in such a short time surprised him, and also filled him with a strange sense of pride.
“The Merfolk Sea Clan.” Chen Yixin naturally held nothing back from Wenren Li. He blinked, needing quite a while to suppress the strange sensation caused by having his feathers stroked. “They’re yao. At first, their true forms would have been sea beasts, but later they gradually came to maintain this half-human, half-yao state. That way, they keep the powerful offensive strength of a fish tail while also possessing the nimble, creative hands of humans.”
Among yao races, only merfolk were truly like this, and their achievements throughout the various realms proved the value of it. What had inspired Chen Yixin was precisely that half-human, half-yao state and the balance maintained between two bloodlines.
“I should count as half-yao now.” His phoenix bloodline could no longer be fully suppressed, but Chen Yixin had found a relatively stable point of balance. That was how he had managed to change back.
As Chen Yixin spoke, he tilted sideways into Wenren Li’s arms and even guided Wenren Li’s hand toward his waist. “A-Li, my waist is sore. Rub it for me.”
“All right.” Wenren Li answered. He knew perfectly well that Chen Yixin’s waist was not actually sore. He was doing this because Ze Fang and the Great Peng Yao Emperor had arrived, saying it for them to hear and putting on a performance for them to see.
Even knowing that, Wenren Li was perfectly willing to cooperate. He deeply loved this part of Chen Yixin’s nature, the way his affection and dislike were both so clear. Every emotion in Wenren Li that did not involve Chen Yixin tended to be bland and muted. Chen Yixin, however, was vivid from the inside out, like a flame that could never be extinguished—and one capable of setting Wenren Li alight with him.
Ze Fang could not help raising an eyebrow. He was beginning to appreciate Chen Yixin more and more. This kind of complete lack of coyness was rare in the cultivation world. Even Ze Fang himself, sometimes constrained by social obligations and personal relationships, could not always act so freely.
The Great Peng Yao Emperor did not let a single expression escape his face and maintained the attitude that he had come strictly for business. Yet the more thoroughly he did that, the clearer his concern became. He had only been the beneficiary of one heroic rescue. How had that turned into ten thousand years of wanting to offer himself in return?
Chen Yixin glared openly at the Great Peng Yao Emperor, his cheeks puffing slightly. If he were still in little-blue-bird form, his feathers would undoubtedly have puffed up again.
But then Wenren Li’s hand left Chen Yixin’s waist and turned his face away from the Great Peng Yao Emperor. Jealousy was no longer Chen Yixin’s exclusive territory. Without noticing it, Wenren Li had learned the same habit.
No—more accurately, he had always known how. Chen Yixin still was not allowed to nibble on other plants, after all.
“What is it?” Wenren Li did not bother with a single pleasantry and went straight to the reason Ze Fang and the Great Peng Yao Emperor had come. Chen Yixin found the Great Peng Yao Emperor an eyesore, and Wenren Li found anyone who stole Chen Yixin’s attention equally irritating.
“What are Lord Li’s plans after this?” Ze Fang glanced at the Great Peng Yao Emperor before speaking first. The crisis involving the Merfolk Sea Clan and Mingfeng Domain had disappeared just like that, so their earlier agreement with Wenren Li had effectively reached its end.
But after witnessing Wenren Li’s crushing level of strength, they were no longer particularly willing to simply part ways here.
“If you have no other plans, we would like to invite Lord Li and… the Demon Consort to accompany us to the hidden site discovered by the Merfolk Sea Clan.”
“Fellow Daoist Ze Fang seems to have forgotten something.” After staring at Wenren Li’s face for several moments, Chen Yixin’s jealousy had already eased somewhat. But since Ze Fang had mentioned him directly, he naturally had the right to say a few words.
“A-Li has subdued four Soul Transformation yao cultivators from the Merfolk Sea Clan. That’s practically the same as subduing half the clan. At this point, at least half of the hidden site they discovered already belongs to A-Li and me. Once we make a trip to the Merfolk Sea Clan, the whole hidden site will belong to us.”
So Ze Fang’s use of the word “invite” was both inaccurate and wildly inappropriate. Ze Fang and the others possessed no advantage whatsoever. What right did they have to “invite” Wenren Li and Chen Yixin?
At that moment, Ze Fang wanted to take back every bit of appreciation he had felt for Chen Yixin. Once Chen Yixin became sharp and calculating, Ze Fang simply could not handle him.
“We’ve traveled together this far, so there is some friendship between us. Even if we refused to let you come, I doubt you’d be willing to accept that.”
Chen Yixin’s sharpness abruptly softened into a negotiating tone. He curved his lips at Ze Fang and the Great Peng Yao Emperor. “You can travel with us, but you’ll have to pay a fee based on the number of people and their cultivation levels.”
“My A-Li is certainly powerful, but he isn’t here to escort irrelevant people for free.”
Chen Yixin had simply brought out the same extortion routine he had used against the immortal and demonic factions at his wedding. If Ze Fang and the Great Peng Yao Emperor wanted their people to enter with them, they would have to pay both protection fees and entry fees, all carefully calculated according to cultivation. The sum would certainly not be small.
In only three sentences, Chen Yixin rendered Ze Fang speechless. Ze Fang looked at Chen Yixin, then at Wenren Li, who was indulging absolutely everything Chen Yixin did. After exchanging a few words with the Great Peng Yao Emperor through soul transmission, he nodded. “That’s only fair.”
Only then did Chen Yixin’s smile become slightly more genuine. “Good that Fellow Daoist Ze Fang understands.”
He looked toward the Great Peng Yao Emperor next and asked with somewhat more sincerity, “What about Fellow Daoist Qing Peng?”
“You are…” The Great Peng Yao Emperor almost asked whether Chen Yixin truly was a phoenix of the present age, but once he met Chen Yixin’s gaze, he swallowed the question again. He nodded. “Agreed.”
No matter how carefully Chen Yixin observed him, he still could not fully understand what the Great Peng Yao Emperor was thinking. He had already said what needed saying, so he leaned back against Wenren Li’s shoulder, turned his face, and resumed looking at Wenren Li’s profile. He simply never got tired of it.
Wenren Li glanced at the suddenly docile Chen Yixin and remained silent. By then, the four Merfolk Sea Clan yao cultivators had already been summoned.
“We greet Master. We greet the Demon Consort.”
“Explain the situation at the hidden site.” Wenren Li asked directly, completely ignoring the four cultivators’ deliberate attempts to curry favor.
“Yes.” The leading male Soul Transformation merfolk cultivator answered. “It was actually discovered by accident. A junior from our clan wandered into Mingfeng Domain while playing. We followed to look for him and discovered a streak of immortal light moving beneath the sea.”
He glanced at Ze Fang. “Just as we were about to catch up with the immortal light, a treasure ship from Shuiyue Residence appeared and some cultivators there also attempted to intercept it. The two sides clashed. Fortunately, we did not lose track of the light.”
He lightly glossed over the matter of killing everyone aboard Shuiyue Residence’s ship as nothing more than a “clash.” If possible, they would rather not have mentioned it at all, but under the Servant Imprint they were completely incapable of lying to Wenren Li.
“Our clan has already sealed off that entire area. Master can go at any time.”
His meaning was obvious: he did not want anyone besides Wenren Li coming along. But that was no longer something he had any power to decide.
Chen Yixin poked Wenren Li in the waist. Wenren Li’s expression did not change, but he had already understood what Chen Yixin meant.
“We’ll visit your clan first, then go to the hidden site.”
They needed to remove their remaining concerns first. Only then would it be safer to proceed to the hidden site.
“Yes.” The Soul Transformation merfolk was visibly unwilling, but he could only agree.
Nan Ke came over and led them away to draw a new sea chart. Ze Fang and the Great Peng Yao Emperor also returned to prepare the fees Wenren Li had demanded. Chen Yixin remained nestled in Wenren Li’s arms, being fed snacks and fruit while having his waist rubbed at the same time.
“Is the immortal light they mentioned really immortal light?”
Chen Yixin tilted his head and met Wenren Li’s lowered gaze. For no reason at all, the corners of his lips rose. He looked around, then pressed a light kiss near the base of Wenren Li’s ear.
“A-Li probably doesn’t know either. We’ll just look when we get there.”
“All right.” Wenren Li answered. He lifted his hand to Chen Yixin’s hair, then, just as he was about to withdraw, could not resist brushing his fingertips over those three upright feathers again. Only after feeling Chen Yixin’s body tremble did he finally pull away, almost savoring the reaction.
“Feels nice?” Chen Yixin glared at Wenren Li. He raised a hand and touched the feathers himself, but the sensation of touching them on his own was completely different from being touched by Wenren Li. Somehow, it felt as though one of his weaknesses had fallen directly into Wenren Li’s hands.
“Mm.” Wenren Li nodded honestly. The feathers themselves felt pleasant, but what truly made him want to touch them again and again was Chen Yixin’s reaction. He obviously wanted to evade the touch, yet forced himself to endure because he wanted to indulge every one of Wenren Li’s wishes. It was that indulgence Wenren Li found addictive.
“Then… then touch them.” Chen Yixin’s brows drew together slightly as he spoke. The hand at Wenren Li’s waist tightened as well. This time, he was determined not to embarrass himself quite so badly.
But Wenren Li did not raise his hand. He merely tilted his head and brushed his lips lightly over the three feathers.
Chen Yixin blinked. A layer of mist immediately gathered in his eyes, his reaction even stronger than before.
“A-Li, just keep bullying me…” Chen Yixin refused to admit that one little brush had nearly made him cry. He scratched and scratched at Wenren Li’s waist, shamelessly making a fuss, but unfortunately, no matter how much he sharpened his claws, this old tree still had almost no reaction.
After Chen Yixin and Wenren Li finished dual cultivating, Mingfeng Domain finally revealed its usual face again.
Strange vortices and gales blocked their way, knocking them off the correct route and nearly getting them lost. In the end, it was only because the Soul Transformation merfolk cultivators intervened that they found the proper route again. A journey that should have taken one day did not end until three days later. At last, they left Mingfeng Domain and entered the true North Sea.
“Across the North Sea lies a stretch of islands no smaller than the Southern Territory, along with countless scattered smaller islands. Together with all the sea clans living in the surrounding waters, the situation there is every bit as complicated…”
Wenren Li carefully explained the North Sea and the lands on its opposite shore to Chen Yixin. As he spoke, the merfolk cultivators and Ze Fang supplemented his explanation where necessary.
As for the Great Peng Yao Emperor, although he came with Ze Fang every time, he continued treating silence as golden. If he did not have to speak, he simply did not.
Yet his presence remained painfully obvious in Chen Yixin’s eyes. Once Wenren Li and Ze Fang had finished explaining everything, Chen Yixin looked directly at the Great Peng Yao Emperor. “I hear your son and juniors have quite a few complaints about me.”
The Great Peng Yao Emperor was Qing Peng. Young Lord Peng was Qing Peng as well, and also held the position of Young Palace Lord. An adopted son was still a son, so Chen Yixin had not actually said anything wrong, but the Great Peng Yao Emperor could hear the pointed edge in his words all the same.
“They wouldn’t dare. In that case, I’ll have them come and pay their respects to you.” The Great Peng Yao Emperor knew how to take advantage of an opening too. After observing Chen Yixin continuously for the past several days, his earlier seventy- or eighty-percent certainty had become absolute certainty. There was no possibility of mistaking that level of bloodline pressure.
Judged purely by bloodline, there was no comparison between him and Chen Yixin. They were on completely different levels. And when he thought again about what Wenren Li had told him—that Wenren Li had saved him because of the phoenix bloodline in his blood—then in the end, even that had been because of Chen Yixin.
Because Chen Yixin was a true phoenix, Wenren Li could not tolerate seeing a bird that carried phoenix bloodline being harmed before his eyes. That had been the true reason the Great Peng Yao Emperor was saved.
Chen Yixin continued glaring at him, but did not reject his suggestion. He caught Wenren Li’s hand, and the two remained seated on the deck while they waited for Young Lord Peng, Luan Ji, and the others to arrive.
“Greetings, Venerable.” They automatically saluted Wenren Li. It was the respect the weak naturally showed the strong and required no further prompting from the Great Peng Yao Emperor or Ze Fang. But when they turned toward Chen Yixin, they hesitated.
After all, his cultivation was what it was, and his true body was still a tiny fledgling.
“Kneel.” The Great Peng Yao Emperor suddenly ordered. At the same time, he bent his own knees and knelt. “Greetings, Divine Lord.”
A pure-blood phoenix was a born Divine Lord. For ordinary yao cultivators such as themselves, offering this level of respect was both necessary and proper.
After a brief silence, every young master from Qingyu Palace knelt and followed the Great Peng Yao Emperor in paying respects. “Greetings, Divine Lord.”
“We are at your command.” As the Great Peng Yao Emperor spoke, a faint golden phantom appeared between his brows. Golden light immediately surged around Chen Yixin as well. His identity as a Phoenix Divine Lord was now beyond dispute.
“You’ve got sharp eyes…” Since Chen Yixin could no longer deny it, he simply stopped trying. He had also figured out why the Great Peng Yao Emperor kept hovering around these past few days. He was probably trying to make up his mind to sever the last trace of romantic attachment he still held toward Wenren Li. Whether he had succeeded was another matter.
“Rise.” The moment Chen Yixin spoke, the three feathers on his forehead trembled lightly. Young Lord Peng and the others, who still harbored doubts, instantly felt their legs go weak and dropped flat to the ground. Phoenixes were born with the ability to command all birds. The instinct was engraved into their blood and simply could not be resisted.
“We swear to protect the Divine Lord to the death.”
Luan Ji and the others responded even more strongly than the Great Peng Yao Emperor had, and it was not only them. Their respective yao clans stood behind them as well. In other words, the moment Chen Yixin publicly revealed his identity as a member of the Phoenix Divine Clan, he could gain the support of virtually all the sky races throughout Taixuan.
Watching from the side, Ze Fang could not help feeling deeply impressed. Wenren Li had only just subdued the Merfolk Sea Clan, and in the blink of an eye Chen Yixin had won over half the sky races. The two truly seemed blessed with extraordinary fortune. Ze Fang could not help wondering whether they had anything to do with the Merfolk Clan’s prophecy that the heavens would change.
At that moment, Chen Yixin raised one hand. Golden light scattered into countless motes and drifted outward. Even the Great Peng Yao Emperor felt warmth rise within his bloodline. This was a blessing that only a pure-blood phoenix could bestow.
“I awakened here, so this is the karmic connection between us. You may all disperse.”
Chen Yixin might be calculating about every little loss, but neither was he willing to owe anyone something for nothing. He had benefited greatly from Qingyu Palace’s blood-jade space, so this counted as his return gift.
“Thank you, Divine Lord!”
Young Lord Peng and Shao Ying shouted together. When they raised their heads again, their gazes had become utterly fervent. Every doubt they had possessed before had transformed completely. Among yao, the strong were supreme and bloodline was supreme. Those were universally accepted rules.
The Great Peng Yao Emperor waved a hand and sent the still-overexcited Young Lord Peng and the others away. Ze Fang glanced at him and left first as well. Clearly, the Great Peng Yao Emperor still had something to say to Chen Yixin and Wenren Li.
“Please punish me, Divine Lord. Qing Peng offended you many times before.”
All of them knew exactly what the Great Peng Yao Emperor meant. There was no need to bring the matter up again, but there was a need to put Chen Yixin completely at ease. The Great Peng Yao Emperor’s attitude now would determine the future of the entire Peng Clan.
“Just tell me whether you still like A-Li.”
Chen Yixin was far more straightforward than the Great Peng Yao Emperor and had absolutely no intention of avoiding the issue. As a phoenix, Chen Yixin could grant them benefits and could also pressure the Great Peng Yao Emperor through bloodline, but what he wanted was for the emperor to genuinely let go and admit it himself.
Silently continuing to pine after Wenren Li was not something Chen Yixin would tolerate.
The Great Peng Yao Emperor was silent for a moment and had just begun to shake his head when Chen Yixin narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t bother saying something you don’t mean. Give me ten years. Ten years from now, you and I will fight. If I win, you’re never allowed to harbor another thought about A-Li. If I lose, I’ll have A-Li fight you again.”
Either way, whether Chen Yixin did it himself or Wenren Li did it for him, they would beat the Great Peng Yao Emperor until he no longer dared harbor such thoughts.
This strange logic, spoken with such absolute righteousness, was probably something only Chen Yixin could manage. The Great Peng Yao Emperor rose, bowed again, and left the deck. He had a feeling there was no need to wait ten years. He would probably be completely hopeless long before then.
Still, he did not intend to refuse Chen Yixin’s challenge. He had not cultivated to his present level on bloodline alone. He had always possessed the heart of someone who pursued strength and had always been extremely fond of battle.
To fight a Phoenix Divine Lord—even if he were thoroughly crushed—would still be an honor.
Leave a Reply