Futile Devices Scans

Jiu Yu glanced toward the immortals coming and going, obvious greed flashing in his eyes. Chen Yixin only allowed him to eat Otherworldly Demons; he was forbidden from touching the Immortal Source within these immortals. Out in the wilderness it was manageable, but in a fortress town packed with immortals, it became rather difficult to endure.

“You’ll get used to it,” Chen Yixin replied. The look in his eyes turned slightly colder, and Jiu Yu immediately shrank back and quieted down. He had probably developed some kind of trauma from all the torment Chen Yixin had put him through.

“Where are we going next?” Jiu Yu huddled his shoulders and asked in a gloomy tone. Given the conditions of both him and Chen Yixin, neither of them was suited to staying in a fortress crowded with immortals. It was hard on him; it would only be harder on Chen Yixin.

“To the real Nine Sovereigns Hall,” Chen Yixin replied. In other words, the former Yuxu Palace, where the Abyssal Devil Well that had yet to reveal itself to the world still remained.

As he spoke, Chen Yixin took another sip of wine. In the past he could taste its flavor. Now he could not. Yet it was still wine, and even without any taste, he still wanted to drink it.

Jiu Yu’s eyes lit up before he frowned again. “Walk there?”

Chen Yixin nodded and took another sip of wine. Jiu Yu, having received his answer, nearly had his hair stand on end. No matter how unwilling he was, he could not change Chen Yixin’s decision. At this pace, would it take a thousand years or ten thousand years to arrive?

A lunatic! A madman! And the worst part was that he still had to accompany him in his madness…

“Just don’t die halfway there…”

Jiu Yu muttered the words almost inaudibly before rising to purchase the things Chen Yixin had instructed him to procure.

Chen Yixin truly had no answer for those words. His lifespan essence and soul essence had begun to wither twenty years ago, yet he still had not died. Ever since Wenren Li’s Divine Crystal had entered his chest, it had never provided him with a single trace of divine power. It was as if it were dead. It even seemed as though removing it would cause no problems, but Chen Yixin did not dare test that assumption.

“Sigh… forty years already. I wonder how Elder Brother Qing Ruo and Big Brother Lin Yu are doing…”

Chen Yixin murmured softly. Yet he did not dare think about how Wenren Li might be doing.

The light within Wenren Li’s Divine Crystal had been stripped away by Dong Fang and Nangong, settled within the Sea of Ice Extremity to become the Heavenly Flame, and then found its way to him, helping him come into being. Now that he had returned it to its rightful owner and completely shattered Dong Fang and Nangong’s scheme, he felt no regret. Even now, he still did not regret it.

But beyond that, anger, sorrow, longing, or anything else—he dared not dwell on them. If he did, he truly felt he might lose his mind.

Chen Yixin’s gaze swept toward the stairs of the tavern. An old acquaintance he never expected to see appeared before him. The changes he had undergone were so great now that even if he openly revealed his identity, the other person likely would not believe him.

The old acquaintance also noticed Chen Yixin’s gaze. He smiled modestly before walking over to the only remaining window seat in the tavern. Ordering a pot of wine, he sat alone and savored it.

Chen Yixin withdrew his gaze and set his wine cup down. He had no intention of paying further attention to the man. Yet the old acquaintance stood and came to sit across from him.

“Fellow Daoist, do you know me?”

His gaze settled on Chen Yixin. The cloak concealed his figure and appearance so thoroughly that only his chin and lips could be seen. No complete view of his features was possible.

Examining him now, he found Chen Yixin completely unfamiliar. Yet the earlier gaze left him unconvinced that he had imagined it.

“No,” Chen Yixin replied.

If Ling Fei and Jiu Yu had been present, they would have found this astonishing. Over more than forty years together, Chen Yixin had rarely spoken. Those who tried to strike up conversations with him were almost always ignored.

Yet now he had answered this old acquaintance’s question.

Only because the man came from Taixuan—the Taixuan he yearned for day and night and could never forget.

The man was Han Zichuan, someone Chen Yixin had disliked in the past and still disliked now.

Yet for Han Zichuan to have left Taixuan and, in just a little over a thousand years, risen from a Soul Transformation cultivator to a Ninth-Rank Immortal King, he must have encountered opportunities beyond imagination.

“I am Han Zichuan. Meeting is fate. Let me offer this cup to Fellow Daoist.”

Han Zichuan did not pursue the matter further. He offered a toast. Seeing that Chen Yixin had no desire to continue speaking, he returned to his own seat.

Soon afterward, Jiu Yu returned, and the two of them left the tavern that had served as their temporary stop.

“Who was that? He kept sneaking glances at you. Want me to eat him?” Jiu Yu muttered as he followed behind Chen Yixin. At the same time, he was very much hoping Chen Yixin would tell him to do exactly that.

Chen Yixin ignored the question. He inspected the items Jiu Yu had purchased, selecting those he intended to use and fiddling with them in his hands as he headed straight for the outskirts of the fortress town.

At that moment, the previously lively street suddenly erupted into an uproar.

News had arrived from the Immortal Realm.

“This is huge! The passage between the Prison Realm and the Upper Realm has been opened! The descendants of those banished immortals are attacking!”

Hearing this, Chen Yixin’s steps paused. Then he lowered his head, tugged the brim of his hat lower, and continued walking out of the town without looking sideways.

Jiu Yu glanced back several times. He roughly understood Chen Yixin’s attitude, yet he could not help continuing to study him. Three days passed after they left the town, but Chen Yixin still failed to show even the slightest expression Jiu Yu wanted to see.

“Before long, he should arrive at the Void Heaven Battlefield. And you’re still strolling along at this pace?”

Jiu Yu thought Chen Yixin could simply find a comfortable place and wait for Wenren Li to come looking for him.

Chen Yixin stopped and turned around. Looking directly at Jiu Yu, he stepped forward. The black thread he had spent three days weaving suddenly flew out and wrapped itself around Jiu Yu’s left wrist.

Only then did he turn back and continue forward, leaning on his stone cane.

“Starting today, you’re not allowed to use divine power either.”

The black thread existed solely to restrain Jiu Yu. After spending so long in the fortress town searching for the materials Chen Yixin had requested, he had never imagined they would ultimately be used against himself.

Jiu Yu felt a mouthful of blood lodge in his chest. Whether he spat it out or swallowed it back, neither option felt right.

Yet clearly Chen Yixin had his own reasons for refusing to let him leave. For now, he would not be departing. No matter how miserable he felt, he still had to follow along, serve as beast of burden and servant, and face a very real risk of being driven to death by Chen Yixin.

“Do you really have to take it this far? With both our divine powers sealed, any random demon or monster could kill us!”

Chen Yixin had sealed his own divine power for over forty years. Now he had sealed Jiu Yu’s as well.

Yet it was precisely because of this seal that Chen Yixin had completely eliminated any possibility of Dong Fang and Nangong locating him. Now he had sealed Jiu Yu as well, solely to prevent Wenren Li from finding them through Jiu Yu too soon.

It was not that he did not want Wenren Li to find him. It was simply that the time was not yet right. They had endured forty years already. A little longer would make no difference.

Of course, Chen Yixin had also long prepared himself for the possibility that Wenren Li had been completely driven into dark transformation by all the trouble he had caused.

He was probably still very angry…

Jiu Yu shouted and protested, unable to accept it and unable to believe it. Yet his body had already begun shrinking. He continued shrinking until he resembled a seven- or eight-year-old child.

All traces of his tall, imposing, domineering appearance vanished.

Over the years, with Chen Yixin constantly nearby, Jiu Yu naturally no longer dared assume Wenren Li’s appearance. They had never been the same individual to begin with. After spending years in the Upper Realm, Jiu Yu had developed a decent sense of aesthetics. His transformed appearance was not ugly.

But now he had become a pitch-black little brat, dark from his hair to his toes. If the sky dimmed any further, people might not even be able to make out his features.

“Ahhh!”

He screamed in front of Chen Yixin like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum because he could not get candy. Jiu Yu did not want to behave this way, but he truly could not control his emotions.

Baring what remained of his barely sharp teeth, he lunged toward Chen Yixin intending to bite him. Yet before he could even touch him, an invisible force rebounded him away.

Not only did his still fairly white teeth bleed, one of them fell out.

This time Jiu Yu genuinely felt like crying.

Yet Chen Yixin continued to ignore him, as though he could not hear the crying at all. Finding a place to sit, he waited for Jiu Yu to accept reality, and he also waited for the “bodyguard” accompanying them on this journey to arrive.

That person did not keep Chen Yixin waiting long.

As dusk began to fall, he appeared of his own accord.

It was Han Zichuan, whom they had encountered in the tavern and who had secretly followed them all the way here.

“It seems, Fellow Daoist, that you were waiting for me.”

Chen Yixin nodded lightly.

“Yes and no.”

Han Zichuan raised an eyebrow and casually glanced at the dark little Jiu Yu. He never once connected him to the man who had accompanied Chen Yixin in the tavern. Though he had followed behind them, he had remained cautious and never dared use divine sense to examine details.

“Where is your companion, Fellow Daoist?” Han Zi Chuan asked.

The question was directed at Chen Yixin.

Jiu Yu instantly realized what had happened and nearly bared his teeth again. But remembering his missing tooth, he pitifully covered his mouth and remained silent.

Chen Yixin did not answer.

An awkward silence descended.

The awkwardness continued through the entire night.

At dawn, Chen Yixin and Jiu Yu resumed their journey, and Han Zichuan followed behind them. According to him, their paths were still aligned for now. They could separate once their destinations diverged.

That journey lasted nearly a hundred years.

Barren wastelands and scorched earth stretched endlessly before them. The road ahead seemed without end.

During that time, Han Zichuan also learned another of Chen Yixin’s names:

Qing Rong.

It was the name Wenren Li and Qing Ruo had once inscribed for him within the Divine Register.

Beginning the day before, they had mounted the Wasteland Beasts unique to the Void Heaven Battlefield. The reason was that Chen Yixin’s condition had begun visibly deteriorating a year earlier. After enduring for an entire year without improvement, he had no choice but to find a beast for transportation.

Yet neither Jiu Yu nor Han Zichuan sensed his weakness.

Chen Yixin had refrained from using divine power for years, and his black cloak never left his body. Aside from knowing he possessed white hair, Han Zichuan still had no idea what he truly looked like.

By now, he had completely dismissed the suspicions he once harbored.

After all, Chen Yixin and Wenren Li were in Taixuan. Recent news claimed they had even fought their way into the Upper Realm. How could they possibly have spent a hundred years wandering these endless wastelands with him?

“Immortal Qing Rong, what are you seeking in the depths of the battlefield?”

Han Zi Chuan turned toward Chen Yixin and asked.

Now that they had switched to Wasteland Beasts, their speed had increased more than a hundredfold. Within ten years at most, they would inevitably reach the edge of the deepest regions of the Void Heaven Battlefield.

The time had finally come to discuss this topic.

The method to extend one’s life.

Chen Yixin answered Han Zichuan’s question. At the same time, he bent down slightly and rubbed the Wasteland Beast’s head, telling it not to be so afraid. By now, he had become fairly experienced at controlling the hunger.

Han Zichuan had originally wanted to ask more questions, but the scene before him made him inexplicably unwilling to probe any further.

Most of the time, Chen Yixin was so cold that Han Zichuan felt he did not seem like a person, much less an immortal. Yet there were moments like this one. This occasional gentleness made him feel that Chen Yixin was beautiful, but also left him puzzled.

“And you? What are you looking for?”

Jiu Yu cut in. He also reached out to soothe the Wasteland Beast. The one beneath him was only slightly better off than the one carrying Chen Yixin, but he could not stand Han Zichuan’s constant attempts to strike up conversations with Chen Yixin.

Hearing the question, Han Zichuan all but ignored Jiu Yu’s hostility. Looking toward the setting sun, he murmured, “My true self.”

Chen Yixin made no comment on Han Zichuan’s overly profound answer, but Jiu Yu rolled his eyes so hard they nearly flipped over.

A topic that could have been discussed for a very long time ended after only a few sentences. Riding their Wasteland Beasts, they traveled day and night. Nine years later, they arrived at a Blackwater River. There they released the beasts and continued on foot.

Beyond the Blackwater River lay the true forbidden zone of the Void Heaven Battlefield, a place that ambitious Immortal Lords were most eager to explore. The more dangerous the place, the greater the opportunity. It had always seemed to be that way, and they believed this forbidden zone would be no exception.

The reason they were so full of ambition was that over the past hundred and fifty years, the growth rate of the Otherworldly Demons had clearly slowed. Victory for the Upper Realm seemed to be only a matter of time. Those who considered themselves farsighted had already begun thinking about how to divide the treasures of the Void Heaven Battlefield.

Thus, the forbidden zone became the focus of everyone’s attention. More and more Immortal Lords and Immortal Kings arrived, and even Immortal Emperors had appeared from time to time.

Chen Yixin, Han Zichuan, and Jiu Yu sat aboard a raft-like immortal ferry, listening to the boatman’s endless stories. None of them responded, yet the old man’s enthusiasm never diminished, and through him they learned many things happening outside.

“With the demon army retreating, this Void Heaven Battlefield will probably remain lively for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. My ferry business will prosper for a long time yet. Immortals, remember to patronize this old man again in the future.”

No one answered. Only Jiu Yu kept snickering to himself while secretly glaring at Chen Yixin.

The weakening of the Otherworldly Demons was largely because of Chen Yixin. He had sealed Wenren Li’s Divine Crystal Heart within himself. Without its support, the Void Origin could no longer nurture demons as effectively, and so they naturally grew weaker.

This was probably one of the reasons Chen Yixin refused to reveal himself. If he returned to Wenren Li’s side, then given the feelings between them, Wenren Li would never be able to watch him remain in such a weakened state.

Jiu Yu had a feeling that this situation could not continue forever. Either Dong Fang and Nangong would find Chen Yixin, or Wenren Li would. Neither side would allow Chen Yixin to continue treating himself like this.

Yet even as he believed this, he still held some reservations. He could not see through Chen Yixin’s plans. After spending more than a century seeking out Father God and then coming here, Chen Yixin undoubtedly had another objective—one Jiu Yu knew nothing about.

Once Han Zichuan paid the fare, he did not stride ahead to lead the way as he usually did. Instead, he stopped and waited for Chen Yixin and Jiu Yu to catch up.

“Immortal Qing Rong,” he said, “from here onward, I fear we can no longer travel together.”

Chen Yixin seemed to have anticipated this. He nodded and tossed a black cloth pouch to Han Zichuan.

“Payment.”

After speaking, he stepped past him. Jiu Yu followed lazily behind, not sparing Han Zichuan another glance.

Han Zichuan was different from Ling Fei, who had accompanied them for many years. Even Jiu Yu understood that. Since the relationship could still be settled cleanly with so-called payment, it was better to settle it now.

No debts owed. In the future, whatever happened would happen. That was better for both Han Zichuan and Chen Yixin.

Opening the pouch, Han Zichuan discovered the treasures they had gathered over more than a hundred years of travel. Chen Yixin had apparently kept nothing for himself and had given everything away. As payment, treasures rarely seen even in the Upper Realm were more than sufficient.

He watched until Chen Yixin and Jiu Yu disappeared completely before continuing on his own journey.

“Even if we can’t use those things ourselves, they could still have served as bait to lure in some Immortal Source. Why did you give everything to him…?”

Jiu Yu sounded slightly depressed. After all, he had contributed too.

“And this—when are you going to remove it?”

He tugged at the black thread around his wrist.

Over the years, whenever he had spare time, he had tried to figure out how to remove it. Yet it seemed fused to his body. Every method had failed.

One of those methods had even included chopping off his own hand. But once the severed hand lost its vitality, the thread would automatically transfer itself to his other hand. If he cut off that hand too, it would move to his ankle. Unless Chen Yixin removed it personally, there was simply no way to get rid of it.

The moment Jiu Yu finished speaking, the thread snapped and dissolved into black smoke.

“You should leave too.”

Leaning against an old tree, Chen Yixin slowly sat down and spoke in an indifferent tone.

Back when Chen Yixin had tormented him, Jiu Yu had certainly thought about leaving. Yet now that the thread had truly been removed and Chen Yixin had openly told him to go, panic suddenly seized him.

“Damn it! Just because you tell me to leave doesn’t mean I’ll leave! I’m not going!”

Still in the form of a dark-skinned child because he had forgotten he could transform back into an adult, Jiu Yu rushed over and squatted in front of Chen Yixin, glaring at him fiercely. He looked less like an Otherworldly Demon and more like an abandoned spouse confronting a heartless lover.

“If you won’t leave, then I’ll tie you up again.”

Chen Yixin let out a soft breath without even raising his head.

Jiu Yu froze. After some thought, he rummaged through the private stash he had accumulated over the years and found the materials Chen Yixin had once instructed him to gather.

It took Chen Yixin ten full days to weave another thread capable of sealing divine power. Only then did they resume their journey.

Naturally, Jiu Yu was not happy about it. But he feared that if he showed even a hint of dissatisfaction, Chen Yixin might change his mind and send him away again.

At this point, he had realized something. Apart from Wenren Li, toward whom Chen Yixin would always soften, his heart was harder than stone toward everything else. In some ways, he was even more ruthless than the heartless Otherworldly Demons.

“Hey, isn’t your condition getting worse? Shouldn’t you rest for a few more days…?”

Jiu Yu tugged at the thread and asked the question.

Originally, he had not noticed. But the last time, Chen Yixin had managed to weave the thread in only three days while still traveling.

This time, sitting in one place with nothing else to do, it had taken him ten days to finish it.

The difference lay entirely in Chen Yixin’s physical condition.

“Mm. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

Chen Yixin answered and closed his eyes.

At that moment, a crimson streak of immortal light pierced across the sky.

Chen Yixin, who had been resting with his eyes shut, suddenly looked up.

“Elder Brother Qing Ruo’s immortal light…”

Jiu Yu looked up as well. But after sweeping over them once, the divine sense contained within the light showed no further reaction. To Qing Ruo, Chen Yixin and Jiu Yu were probably no different from two ants wandering the wastelands of the Void Heaven Battlefield.

“Maybe you should just forget it and let them find you. Why keep doing this…?”

Jiu Yu felt that such words sounded unlike himself, but he knew Chen Yixin’s condition was extremely poor. Neither of them knew how much longer he could endure.

Chen Yixin did not answer.

The next day, they resumed their journey on foot as usual.

From that day onward, similar streaks of immortal light appeared in the skies of the Void Heaven Battlefield with increasing frequency. Wenren Li, Qing Ruo, and the others were clearly searching for Chen Yixin to the point of madness.

“Your Majesty, please do not worry. Sage Lord Qing Ruo and War God Lin Yu have personally gone to search. We will certainly find the Young Lord.”

An Cheng bowed slightly as he spoke, though his words sounded powerless even to himself.

Three steps away stood Wenren Li, dressed in black robes with silver hair. He truly resembled the Great Emperor who overlooked immortals, gods, mortals, and all realms alike—cold, aloof, peerless, devoid of any mortal warmth.

They could only look up at him. They could not approach.

“You may leave.”

Wenren Li waved his hand. An Cheng did not dare show the slightest disobedience and immediately withdrew with a respectful bow.

Wenren Li slowly turned to the side. The coldness in his eyes seemed capable of freezing even the rising red sun on the horizon. Every inch of his bearing was noble and transcendent. At this point, even Dong Fang and Nangong would not dare point at him and claim he was not a god.

Yet all of this had been bought for him by a Chen Yixin whose fate was unknown. His hand slowly clenched, but not a trace of emotion leaked into his eyes. Even when he was alone, he remained this way.

The moment they arrived at the Void Heaven Battlefield, they had sent out every person they could spare to search for Chen Yixin. But Wenren Li understood Chen Yixin better than anyone else and knew such a search would yield little.

He stepped out of their encampment. Qing Ruo appeared not far away. Looking at Wenren Li’s current state, he could not help feeling a pang of sorrow. Yet his worry for Chen Yixin was no less. Otherwise, he would not have personally taken part in this futile search.

Wenren Li glanced at Qing Ruo and continued walking out of the camp. After a brief hesitation, Qing Ruo silently followed.

They walked like this for nearly half an hour before Qing Ruo finally gritted his teeth and said, “If A’Rong wants to hide, we won’t find him like this. How about spreading word that in three months you will fight Dong Fang Yijue to the death at the Black River Mountain Range? We could force him to show himself that way.”

It was not yet the right time for a decisive battle, but this was the only method he could think of to force Chen Yixin out into the open. Qing Ruo knew there were flaws in the idea, yet he could not stop himself from suggesting it.

“No need. I know where to find him now…” Wenren Li said as he lowered himself slightly. Then he dropped to one knee and placed a hand beside a stone on the wasteland. In a low voice he murmured, “A’Rong truly is too clever…”

Though they appeared to be strolling slowly, each step carried them across countless mountains and rivers. This wasteland was the place where Chen Yixin had once sought an audience with Father God. Chen Yixin’s aura had long vanished, but Father God’s aura had not completely dispersed.

In all the world, aside from himself, only Chen Yixin knew how to request an audience in that manner.

Qing Ruo still did not understand what place Wenren Li was referring to, but seeing his expression, he could not help worrying for the Chen Yixin who was about to be found. Softening his voice, he said, “A’Rong can be willful. Your Majesty, please do not hold it against him.”

Wenren Li did not respond. A formation pattern appeared beneath his feet. He nodded to Qing Ruo, and then vanished through teleportation.

Qing Ruo wanted to follow, but once Wenren Li left, there were matters that only he and Lin Yu could handle. At the very least, he needed to recall all those who had been sent out searching for Chen Yixin, including Lin Yu himself.

Unaware that the traces he had left behind on the wasteland had exposed his whereabouts, Chen Yixin continued onward with Jiu Yu through a forest so vast it blotted out the sky. Their pace was even slower than before.

“Do you actually have a direction in mind? We’ve been wandering in circles through this place for quite a while now.”

It had always been either Jiu Yu or one of their companions leading the way. This time, however, Chen Yixin was the guide. As they walked, a forest without visible end had appeared upon an endless barren plain.

It seemed to be a place carved out separately from the rest of the world. Brimming with life, it was completely different from every other part of this forbidden region. Even the concentration of immortal energy surpassed that of the Imperial Capital where Jiu Yu had once lived.

Chen Yixin pushed back his hood and cast Jiu Yu a sidelong glance. He was clearly displeased by the doubt. The overly familiar surroundings filled his heart, which had been desolate for over a century, with an inexplicable sense of excitement.

“This is my nest. Watch your step. Don’t you dare damage a single blade of grass or tree.”

After warning Jiu Yu, Chen Yixin lowered his head and continued onward.

The bedroom Wenren Li had built for him beneath the Sea of Ice Extremity had only been meant for him before he hatched. This place had been prepared for after he hatched—quiet enough, clean enough, and beautiful enough.

His eyes could no longer truly appreciate that beauty, but he had not forgotten the feeling preserved in his memories. He had once loved this place and eagerly looked forward to living here. Yet because he had never managed to hatch, it had merely become another place for him to play.

Jiu Yu looked around again after hearing this. Unfortunately, his eyes were little better than Chen Yixin’s. Aesthetic appreciation was beyond him. Yet from experience he could tell how much care had gone into creating this place. Seeing Chen Yixin’s attitude, he could more or less guess who had built it for him.

“Tsk…” Jiu Yu clicked his tongue in mild disdain, but he became even more careful with every step he took.

A distance that Chen Yixin could once have crossed with a single beat of his wings now took him and Jiu Yu nearly a month of stumbling travel. Only then did they reach the Ice Jade Palace at the center of the forest. Cold energy spread in every direction while immortal light shimmered brilliantly, perfectly blending with the vibrant life surrounding it.

Chen Yixin staggered and sat down before the icy palace. His snow-white hair spilled over his shoulders. The hand pressed against the ground was almost transparent in its pallor, not to mention the lifeless color of his face.

Jiu Yu wanted to help him up, but the chill radiating from the palace nearly forced him back into his original form. He could barely care about Chen Yixin anymore.

“S-so cold… freezing to death…”

Chen Yixin took a deep breath. Unexpectedly, strength seemed to return to him. With a wave of his hand, he swept Jiu Yu into his sleeve and then continued climbing the palace steps one by one.

After finally ascending all ninety-nine steps, a long corridor still stretched ahead. Chen Yixin leaned on his stone cane and took another two steps forward. Yet even the cane that had supported him this far could not withstand the extreme cold. It began to crack apart piece by piece.

“Forget it.”

Chen Yixin released the cane and continued forward. He had already crossed such an immense distance. A few more steps would not stop him.

As an Ice Phoenix, Chen Yixin naturally feared no cold. But now he was an Ice Phoenix that had been contaminated. The sacred cold energy here no longer felt pleasant to him.

He did not know how long it took him to cross the corridor, but he knew he could not lose consciousness now. If he fainted, whether he lived or died would be anyone’s guess. He still had to reunite with Wenren Li. He still had to see Qing Ruo. He could not die.

Clinging to that determination, Chen Yixin entered the palace and headed straight for the bedchamber. There was a secret tunnel he had secretly dug there, one leading directly to Wenren Li’s Yuxu Palace. Only he knew of its existence.

He crawled onto the ice-jade bed and, with trembling hands, stuffed a piece of cold jade into his mouth to activate the formation.

At the same time, Wenren Li arrived outside Yuxu Palace. He was searching every possible route Chen Yixin might have taken to come here. Unaware of the secret tunnel, he did not believe Chen Yixin could have entered a place personally guarded by Dong Fang and Nangong.

“It’s you. Have you seen A’Rong?” Wenren Li landed before Han Zichuan, who was likewise on his way toward Yuxu Palace. He had no interest in Han Zichuan’s fortuitous encounters, but he felt there was a strong chance the man had crossed paths with Chen Yixin.

Before Han Zichuan could answer, Wenren Li reached out and seized the space before his forehead. A scene emerged—a memory from not long ago of traveling by boat with Chen Yixin before parting ways. A faint ache flashed through Wenren Li’s eyes as he immediately recognized the figure hidden beneath the black cloak.

“A’Rong…”

Wenren Li gritted his teeth. If Chen Yixin were standing before him right now, he might truly bite him several times to vent his anger. Love, resentment, frustration, worry—every emotion surged together. Though his aura was that of a god, his expression looked more like that of a demon.

By the time Han Zichuan recovered his senses, Wenren Li had already vanished. His bewildered gaze gradually focused, then widened abruptly.

“Chen Yixin! That was Chen Yixin!”

His first impression had not been wrong. The look Chen Yixin had given him in the tavern had indeed been the look of someone familiar. But why had he appeared in such a state? White-haired, frail, and strange…

Yet in the very next moment, Han Zichuan froze.

A man dressed in green now stood before him.

His features could not be seen clearly, yet Han Zichuan had experienced this sensation countless times in his dreams. It was this very call that had guided him onto the road to heaven and compelled him to journey here without hesitation.

But if he were given another chance to choose, Han Zichuan would never have set foot on the Void Heaven Battlefield.

Before entering it, he had been himself. He had been Han Zichuan.

From this moment onward, however, that would no longer be true.

He was merely a chess piece planted long ago by the Qilin Sage Nangong Chuan, an experimental pawn whose effectiveness had never been guaranteed. The moment he stood before Nangong Chuan again, it meant the mission assigned to him had ended. Aside from his memories, his independent consciousness would certainly be erased.

One major reason Jiu Yu had refused to leave Chen Yixin’s side was because he wished to preserve his own independent sense of self. Chen Yixin was willing to allow that. But if Jiu Yu ever fell into the hands of Dong Fang or Nangong, then as a discarded chess piece, the erasure of his consciousness would be unavoidable.

A tear rolled from the corner of Han Zichuan’s eye and landed upon the black cloth pouch hanging from his waist—the gift Chen Yixin had given him.

The tear slowly seeped into the pouch.

Nangong Chuan’s expression did not change in the slightest.

He extended a hand toward Han Zichuan as well. But just as his fingers were about to touch Han Zichuan’s forehead, Han Zichuan vanished into thin air.

Only then did a different expression appear on Nangong Chuan’s face.

He turned in a new direction and disappeared.

Meanwhile, hidden among the rock formations outside Yuxu Palace, Chen Yixin—who still had not fully recovered—revealed a trace of mockery in his eyes.

Chen Yixin covered his sleeve with a hand and transmitted his voice, “Don’t make a sound.”

Jiu Yu’s condition was naturally much better than his, so he had recovered faster as well. But within this abandoned Yuxu Palace, the dangers surpassed those of anywhere outside. Chen Yixin could manage somewhat, but Jiu Yu’s aura could very easily be discovered.

“Having a weak body is really troublesome,” Chen Yixin muttered. He leaned against the rocks for three days before finally managing to move away from the artificial mountain.

“The two old fellows are stationed inside the Demon Abyss Well. Going there is just courting death…” The only thing in Yuxu Palace that could still occupy Chen Yixin’s thoughts was the Demon Abyss Well. Entering it like this was practically throwing themselves into a trap.

Jiu Yu paused, then suddenly remembered that Chen Yixin possessed a secret passage from his old nest leading directly into Yuxu Palace. There might very well be another secret passage leading into the Demon Abyss Well. “Wait… there really is a secret passage?”

His tone was full of speechless disbelief. Just what sort of status had Chen Yixin possessed in Yuxu Palace back then? To be able to do whatever he pleased inside this place like this? If he had ever chosen to work from both inside and outside, Wenren Li’s safety would truly have been in danger.

Chen Yixin’s silence was essentially an admission that Jiu Yu had guessed correctly. Without complete confidence, he would never have come here to die. He was not tired of living. On the contrary, he had come here precisely to survive—at the very least, to avoid being found by Wenren Li in his current weakened state.

Of course, that was only a secondary reason. There were other reasons he had to come here, reasons that only he personally could fulfill.

Although Jiu Yu had never openly acknowledged it, he had more or less accepted Chen Yixin as his master. Coiled around Chen Yixin’s wrist, he voluntarily linked their consciousnesses together, while also providing the protection Chen Yixin needed.

Meanwhile, in the center of a blackened wasteland outside Yuxu Palace, Wenren Li encountered Nangong Chuan. More accurately, Wenren Li’s arrival had alerted Nangong Chuan and forced him to appear in person.

Yet the moment he laid eyes on Wenren Li, he visibly lost his composure. His brows knitted together.

“How could this be…?”

Even if the curse he and Dong Fang had planted had not yet fully erupted, Wenren Li’s aura should not have been this pure. Yet that single frown and moment of confusion completely ignited the fury within Wenren Li.

Even if this was merely a clone whose death would accomplish nothing, he still intended to erase it here.

After several epochs apart, they exchanged not a single complete sentence before immediately attacking each other.

Because of the heart exchange, Wenren Li’s divine power was not as great as it had once been. Yet dealing with one of Nangong Chuan’s clones was more than enough. He practically slaughtered Nangong Chuan, his methods ruthless and merciless, fully displaying the demonic style he had never possessed before.

At the very moment Wenren Li left a single drop of Nangong Chuan’s divine blood upon the scorched earth, Chen Yixin and Jiu Yu were also slowly approaching the Demon Abyss Well.

In truth, Jiu Yu’s guess had not been entirely correct. If Chen Yixin had truly dug a tunnel directly into the Demon Abyss Well, there was no way Dong Fang and Nangong—who had guarded it for so many years—would not have discovered it.

Yet Chen Yixin still possessed a method of entering.

The key lay in the two stones he held in his hand.

One had come from the Three Lives Well, and the other from the Myriad Worlds Well.

These stones were the true source of Chen Yixin’s confidence.

“Will you come in with me, or wait outside?”

Chen Yixin asked Jiu Yu quietly. From this point onward, he had no certainty about what awaited them inside.

Jiu Yu hesitated again and again. After Chen Yixin released him, he promptly leaped back onto him.

“Let’s call it repaying a debt. After this, we’ll have nothing more to do with each other.”

For the first time in a long while, a different expression appeared on Chen Yixin’s face. After spending more than a hundred years together, they had developed at least a little master-servant camaraderie.

He nodded.

“All right.”

Yet hearing Chen Yixin agree so readily somehow made Jiu Yu feel as though he had gotten the worse end of the deal.

Chen Yixin crushed one of the two stones.

A strand of mysterious energy linked directly from his hand to the Demon Abyss Well hidden within the pocket space of the courtyard.

His figure vanished.

When he appeared again, he was underwater.

The tremendous pressure of the water bore down upon him, dragging him toward the bottom.

At that moment, a streak of red shot past.

Two Immortal Emperors appeared, and one of them suddenly found a small red beast in his grasp.

“Master has instructed that Young Master Hong Yu is not permitted to come to this area.”

The little beast opened its mouth and bit the Immortal Emperor’s hand before darting away and disappearing.

The Immortal Emperor frowned but did not pursue it.

Young Master Hong Yu occupied roughly the same position that Chen Yixin had once held in Yuxu Palace. Aside from Nangong Chuan, no one could truly do anything to him.

The little beast raced all the way back to its cave. After confirming that everything inside and outside was safe, it spat out the unconscious Chen Yixin, whom it had secretly carried away with that bite.

It even surrendered its own bed to him.

Then it curled up beside Chen Yixin’s neck and began crying softly.

“Wuu… wuu…”

Jiu Yu, who had originally intended to attack the little beast, immediately fell silent.

Without it, he and Chen Yixin would likely have been discovered by the Immortal Emperors guarding the entrance the moment they arrived.

No wonder security throughout Yuxu Palace had seemed so lax.

The entrance to the Demon Abyss Well was already guarded by eighth- and ninth-rank Immortal Emperors.

“Brother Qing Rong, what’s wrong with you? Don’t die…”

After crying for quite some time, the little beast transformed into a young man clad in red armor. Two horns protruded from his forehead, making him look even more like a Qilin in human form than in his beast form.

Yet whether as a beast or a human, a faint layer of almost invisible light surrounded his body.

It was this very membrane that had halted his growth, prevented him from aging or dying, and restricted the development of his mind.

Even so, the fact that he had recognized Chen Yixin so quickly was remarkable.

Chen Yixin eventually woke amid the endless crying.

This sleep had restored him more than any before. The aura of this place made him feel somewhat more comfortable.

“Hong Yu, thank you.”

Chen Yixin nodded toward the youth.

His expression and tone remained exceptionally indifferent.

After everything that had happened, he could no longer look at Hong Yu without reservations. Nor could he completely separate him from Nangong and Dong Fang.

And he could not be certain whether Hong Yu still preferred being close to him and Wenren Li as he had in the past.

Hong Yu seemed unable to accept Chen Yixin’s coldness.

He transformed back into his little beast form and rubbed repeatedly against Chen Yixin’s feet.

Using the aura of this place, Chen Yixin began adjusting his condition.

He knew very well that the amount of time Hong Yu could buy for him was limited.

Just as Hong Yu was about to become completely despondent from all the rubbing and pleading, Chen Yixin finally reached down and picked him up.

Yet the moment Chen Yixin’s hand covered his eyes, Hong Yu—who normally hated sleeping—instantly fell asleep.

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