Wenren Li lowered his gaze to glance at Chen Yixin, then carefully sensed the spot between his brows that Chen Yixin had touched and kissed. His hand settled on Chen Yixin’s waist, rubbing it gently without using any spiritual power at all.
Only after a long while did he respond softly again.
“Mm.”
His will was enough to guide his spiritual power. It should not—and would not—make Chen Yixin uncomfortable.
Wenren Li had figured it out, but Chen Yixin was being rubbed into a state of wandering thoughts. Yet there was no way he could directly refuse Wenren Li’s massaging of his waist, so he could only force himself to focus harder on the jade slips in his hands.
“What exactly are they trying to do?”
Chen Yixin’s eyes showed contemplation. The “they” he referred to were the Otherworldly Demons reported within the jade slips. Their areas of activity were not limited merely to the former Jade Cauldron Sect, but also included other immortal sects and even mortal empires.
During this Northern Campaign, there had even been traces of Otherworldly Demons disguising themselves as immortal cultivators and participating in the conflict.
“If my guess is correct, they possess the Demon Abyss Well, or at least clues to its whereabouts. They do not want me to fully recover.”
Chen Yixin had read those reports, and Wenren Li had as well. But ultimately, Wenren Li knew more than Chen Yixin did.
The three wells—the Myriad Worlds Well, the Three Lives Well, and even the still-missing Demon Abyss Well—all contained remnants of Wenren Li’s original body sealed within them. If he wished to recover his former battle strength in a short period of time, he had to locate all three wells.
Hearing this, Chen Yixin set the jade slip aside. Turning sideways, he wrapped his arms around Wenren Li’s waist, curling his legs slightly as he completely settled himself into Wenren Li’s embrace, his face pressing against Wenren Li’s chest.
“A-Li, can you tell me why the Void Heaven Battlefield existed in the first place? I heard Elder Brother mention parts of it during conversations with you all before, and later I also heard some things in the Upper Realm, but doubts have always remained in my heart.”
In truth, Chen Yixin had wanted to ask Wenren Li this for a long time. But this was not merely some hidden secret—it also contained everything related to Wenren Li’s betrayal. Every time he thought about it, his heart ached unbearably, leaving him unable to bring himself to ask.
“Perhaps because I was lonely for too long.”
Wenren Li gently held Chen Yixin as his gaze drifted far away. Even he did not know whether Chen Yixin could truly understand how he felt.
“The cycle of heaven and earth, prosperity followed by decline, the Age of Dharma’s End… watching those around me leave one after another. At first, I could still feel heartache. But eventually, I gradually stopped feeling anything at all.”
“I was still myself, yet little by little, I was becoming someone unlike myself.”
As an immortal god who would never die, his excessively long life had also forced him to endure a desolation others could never comprehend. His memories stretched far further back than Chen Yixin imagined.
“The existence of the Void Heaven Battlefield was meant to restrain the Source of Void Law and prevent the arrival of the Age of Dharma’s End. At first, it was merely an idea. But later, with Qingruo, Linyu, Nangong, and Dongfang appearing one after another, I saw hope.”
“Qingruo was a Heavenly Phoenix, Linyu a Heavenly Speaker, Nangong a Qilin Saint, and Dongfang a Heavenly Dragon. They were different from ordinary gods—born of heaven and earth themselves, beings like me. Alone, I could not accomplish it, but with all of them together, the idea no longer seemed impossible.”
“The Yuxu Palace was established, the Four Divine Generals appeared, and a group of gods wishing to alter the laws of heaven and earth gathered together. The trend of prosperity turning to decline was reversed.”
“Of course, the gods who built the Void Heaven Battlefield also had to pay a certain price.”
“But A-Li bore all the cost alone, didn’t you?”
Chen Yixin, who had been quietly listening, suddenly interrupted with this question. Light flickered within his eyes as his emotions became indescribably complicated.
He could not judge whether Wenren Li’s thoughts and actions had been right or wrong, but those gods who had enjoyed Wenren Li’s blessings and then betrayed him absolutely could not be forgiven.
Wenren Li fell silent for a moment before lightly nodding.
“Mm.”
He had never told anyone this matter.
Every hundred thousand years, he would weaken and fall into slumber for nearly a century. No matter how carefully he concealed it, over enough time, cracks and flaws would inevitably appear. Nangong and Dongfang had chosen their betrayal precisely during his weakest period.
Chen Yixin’s eyes and chest both stung painfully. Tightening his embrace around Wenren Li, he asked in a softer voice:
“A-Li… do you hate them?”
Before Wenren Li could answer, Chen Yixin spoke again himself.
“You should hate them. You absolutely should. A-Li, don’t worry—we will definitely take revenge!”
Wenren Li raised a hand and gently pinched Chen Yixin’s puffed-up cheek before lowering his head to rub lightly against his forehead.
“The cost was not actually that terrible. It just made me less inclined to move around than usual.”
He knew Chen Yixin’s heartache was not solely because of the betrayal. He also hurt for the years Wenren Li had spent enduring heavenly punishment alone.
Hearing this, Chen Yixin pressed his lips together, utterly unconvinced by Wenren Li’s attempt at comfort. But he also did not wish for Wenren Li to continue dwelling within those unhappy memories.
“And besides… A-Rong forgot. During those times, A-Rong was always by my side.”
Even during the periods when he was weakened and moved little, he had still kept a clingy little phoenix egg beside him.
In truth, Chen Yixin was the only living being who had ever seen Wenren Li in a somewhat bedraggled state.
“Then what about afterward? You and Elder Brother still sealed me away. A-Li has no idea how miserable I felt back then.”
Chen Yixin had not witnessed what happened during the final battle. He had vaguely sensed something wrong and stubbornly clung to Wenren Li’s palm, refusing to leave with the Phoenix Divine Clan.
But both Wenren Li and Qingruo had successively sealed him away.
Wenren Li’s hand slid to the back of Chen Yixin’s neck, rubbing gently as he lowered his head until their foreheads touched. With complete sincerity, he apologized.
“That was my fault.”
But beyond staring a few extra moments at Wenren Li so close to him, Chen Yixin could not continue pursuing the matter.
He simply could not bear to resent either Wenren Li or Qingruo. He knew they had sealed him away to protect him.
“As for the Otherworldly Demons, they are creatures born from the Source of Void Law. Their purpose is to spread the aura of the Dharma’s End throughout all worlds.”
Thus, the appearance of Otherworldly Demons in Taixuan had not been accidental. There were even traces of their activity in other Lower Realms.
“But after so many years, the Otherworldly Demons of today are likely different from before.”
The heavens and earth changed, so naturally the Otherworldly Demons could not remain the same forever. It was entirely possible that intelligence had already developed among them.
And they were also the only beings in existence capable of restraining Wenren Li.
“That isn’t something we need to concern ourselves with. We only need to clean Taixuan thoroughly. The rest can be left for the Upper Realm to worry about.”
Though Chen Yixin said this, the look he gave Wenren Li still carried traces of thoughtfulness. Somehow, he felt what Wenren Li had told him was not nearly as simple as it sounded.
“The Demon Abyss Well…”
Chen Yixin muttered softly. His expression suddenly froze before he abruptly looked up, eyes widening.
His teeth clenched audibly as fury instantly flooded his chest.
“Could it be that from the past until now, you’ve still been the one bearing the price of defying heaven?”
That would explain why, aside from the divine crystal seed Chen Yixin had retrieved from the Nine Abysses, the other parts of Wenren Li’s original body remained brimming with vitality yet still could not revive.
It was not that they could not revive.
It was that Nangong and Dongfang had killed Wenren Li—and still refused to let him go afterward.
The remnants sealed within the three divine wells existed to suppress the Void Heaven Battlefield while simultaneously bearing the price of heavenly punishment.
The reason the Punishment of Divine Fall summoned by Chen Yixin’s soul-gathering art had no effect on Wenren Li was because Wenren Li had long since adapted through resisting even more terrifying heavenly punishments.
Chen Yixin’s eyes reddened with anger. Shoving Wenren Li, he tried to rise from his embrace, only to be held tightly again, not allowed to leave.
“If my guess is correct, the Demon Abyss Well should be within the former Yuxu Palace. And the Yuxu Palace lies deep within the Void Heaven Battlefield.”
“It should now have become the nest of the Otherworldly Demons. Nangong and Dongfang likely intentionally left the Demon Abyss Well there for them from the very beginning. There must have been some sort of agreement between them and the Otherworldly Demons.”
Hearing this, Chen Yixin’s nose turned slightly sour. No longer struggling to break free, he turned his head and looked at Wenren Li with reddened eyes.
“A-Li… does it hurt?”
His trembling hand pressed against Wenren Li’s chest while the image that surfaced in his mind was one he had seen within the Three Lives Well: a bottomless black pool where countless black threads drew divine power from the sleeping Wenren Li.
Before Wenren Li began absorbing the remnants of his original body, he should not have shared too much connection with his former self.
But Chen Yixin had awakened his memories, reconnecting him to everything from the past.
And so all the suffering once inflicted upon Emperor Yuxu had returned to Wenren Li as well.
Even now, he still had not escaped the betrayals and pain of the past.
Understanding this, Chen Yixin felt both heartbroken and guilty. He wanted to bear it in Wenren Li’s place, yet he could do nothing.
“No—”
Before Wenren Li could finish comforting him, Chen Yixin suddenly crashed forward, silencing those soothing words with a kiss.
When the gentle kiss ended, Wenren Li held Chen Yixin’s chin, a faint smile curving his lips.
“Saying it doesn’t hurt would indeed be lying to you. But… I’ve already grown used to it. A-Rong doesn’t need to blame himself for anything. As long as you’re here, I accept it willingly.”
Without Chen Yixin’s existence, recalling the past truly would have been torment for him.
But because Chen Yixin existed, neither the pain of the past nor the present remained painful anymore.
Their ability to love one another was both an accident and the greatest fortune of his life.
Chen Yixin did not respond further.
He simply remained tightly pressed against Wenren Li, clinging to him without letting go.
Earlier, his desire to return to the Three Lives Well and demand answers had only been impulsive anger. Now that he had calmed down, all he wanted was to hold Wenren Li like this.
Outside the command tent, the sky had already gone completely dark.
An Cheng came several times, only to retreat each time. Chen Yixin and Wenren Li continued embracing one another until dawn gradually brightened the sky, and only then did Chen Yixin finally reluctantly leave Wenren Li’s arms.
“A-Li, I promise you this: however they treated you, I will repay them a thousandfold… ten-thousandfold.”
Wenren Li looked at the calm yet sharp-edged Chen Yixin before taking his hand and slowly tightening his grip.
Then he nodded lightly.
“Good. Together.”
Hand in hand, they walked out of the command tent. A few steps away stood An Cheng once more.
“It’s a victory report. The Ten Great Demon Generals attacked together. Spirit Void Sect has already fallen.”
As An Cheng spoke, he presented a jade slip. Chen Yixin accepted it, sweeping it with his divine sense before returning it to An Cheng.
Then he continued walking with Wenren Li.
“A-Li and I are going to Spirit Void Sect. You and Qiu Yi will remain behind.”
“Yes.”
An Cheng accepted the order. Only after a long while did he lift his head to glance toward the direction Chen Yixin and Wenren Li had departed.
He could not shake the feeling that after this single night, Chen Yixin had become even more decisive and fierce than before.
Ah… their obedient, soft little Young Highness truly was gone forever…
No.
More accurately, that side of him no longer existed in front of them.
Perhaps only in front of Wenren Li could it still remain.
The moment Chen Yixin and Wenren Li left the military camp, they vanished. In merely two breaths’ time, they arrived upon a mountain not far from Spirit Void Sect.
Still holding Wenren Li’s hand, Chen Yixin continued walking toward the sect. After several steps, he turned back to glance at Wenren Li somewhat warily.
“A-Li… do you think I’ve become too fierce?”
Compared to before, he truly had become far more willful—and much fiercer as well. He had not hesitated to threaten or order Wenren Li around, much less everyone else.
In short, he really had become much worse than before.
Wenren Li remained silent for a long while before finally nodding.
“You are fierce… but also adorable.”
But that still meant fierce.
Chen Yixin narrowed his eyes slightly before giving a dissatisfied snort through his nose.
“Then I’ll become even fiercer in the future!”
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