CH 68

Back then, inside the Heavenly Spirit Ruins, Feng Ci already guessed that Pei QianYue’s Inner Demon might have been affected.

But the root cause for Pei QianYue’s qi deviation was Feng Ci. As long as Feng Ci didn’t provoke him, and Pei QianYue stayed true to himself, not hurting the lives of people within this world, Feng Ci didn’t really care if he became a demon(魔) or not. 

Running into Pei QianYue’s Sea of Awareness specifically… naturally wasn’t to verify this matter.

As he said just now, he only came to kiss Pei QianYue.

They haven’t seen each other in such a long time and the huge battle just ended. Wasn’t this something worth celebrating?

Feng Ci’s fondness for kissing… far surpassed the other methods of intimacy. 

Especially Pei QianYue’s slightly rough and intense type of kiss— he liked them better than superficial dragonfly touches.

In this regard, Feng Ci was no different from Pei QianYue.

Both were two souls who have experienced loneliness for too long, so they needed a bit of excitement to fully feel each other’s existence.

To feel that they’re needed.

For example, the feeling of pain. For example, the presence of blood.

But Feng Ci has never said this clearly.

Some things…… were no fun when verbally spoken out loud.

As such, he only pressed against Pei QianYue’s lips lightly before swiftly pulling back. Looking at the other’s slightly surprised expression with a smile, he moved forward to kiss Pei QianYue briefly again. 

When making contact a 3rd time, Pei QianYue finally couldn’t take it anymore and dragged Feng Ci into his arms.

“You’re doing it on purpose.” Pei QianYue bit and chewed on the corners of Feng Ci’s lips and said viciously: “Always like this everytime.”

In total, these two people added together were over 6000 years old. Yet whenever they were together, they still acted like bratty teenagers.

By the time Feng Ci’s head cleared up from that entrancing kiss, he had already been pushed down onto the bow of the ship by Pei QianYue. His clothes were loose and in disarray, his long hair falling onto the surface of the water. 

“I say……” Feng Ci panted for breath amidst Pei QianYue’s aggressive advances: “Can’t you wait until I return to my physical body……”

Pei QianYue stopped his movements.

A moment later, he raised his head and answered seriously: “But I don’t want to wait.”

He lowered his head again and touched Feng Ci’s vital area: “Master clearly doesn’t want to wait either.” 

Feng Ci gave a brief hiss, and under the increasingly vigorous swaying of the boat, he relaxed his body in resignation.

Who made him show up on his own accord this time?

Pei QianYue has always done this kind of thing with ruthless persistence. Who knows if it’s due to influence from the Inner Demon(魔) this time, he completely lacked all discrimination for tempo and pacing. The torrential storm-like enthusiasm quickly became unbearable for Feng Ci.

After they left the Sea of Awareness and returned to their physical bodies, Feng Ci was already so tired, he couldn’t open his eyes. 

It took him quite a while to realize that this kind of fatigue didn’t merely come from the soul, but also from the body.

Most likely, it’s because his physical body was on the verge of collapse.

They had played around inside the Sea of Awareness for too long. In the real world, the moon was already high in the sky.

Njuefis offilcu Ufl HljcTef qlmxlcu tlw eq, Mfcu Jl jrxfv: “Cgf kf ublcu yjmx ab OjcuMfcu Jlas?” 

Ufl HljcTef tjiafv lc tlr rafqr jcv jrxfv: “Gbfr Zjrafg kjca ab gfaegc atfgf?”

“Rba gfjiis.” Mfcu Jl bcis kjcafv ab riffq gluta cbk. Pc OjcuMfcu Jlas, oislcu kjr obgylvvfc. Lfjvlcu yjmx kjr abb agbeyifrbwf: “Ofa’r tfjv yjmx lc atf wbgclcu.”

The battle finished quicker than he had imagined. This physical body should have no problem lasting until dawn.

Pei QianYue: “Okay.” 

Pei QianYue carried Feng Ci back to the cavern where Feng Ci had stored his physical body originally.

The interior composition of this cavern was complicated. Feng Ci came to this place several times in the secret realms, but he still couldn’t figure out the tunnels inside the cavern. With familiarity, Pei QianYue carried Feng Ci and traveled through the caves.

Inside these caves stored the mystic texts that Feng Ci left behind, and some magic items that he had used before.

Back then when Feng Ci left, he had just piled these things up randomly inside the caves. During these years, it was Pei QianYue who sorted them out little by little and displayed them in an organized fashion. As Pei QianYue walked through them carrying Feng Ci, every single item in the caves looked clean and immaculate, without a hint of dust. Only the natural wear and tear, and fading of colors on the surfaces showed the marks of time. 

Pei QianYue didn’t even like cleaning up his own living space, yet he had meticulously cleaned this place down to the finest details.

Feng Ci rested on Pei QianYue’s shoulder, gaze sweeping across the mystic texts.

“Xiao Hei.” Feng Ci called him quietly: “Do you think… I made a mistake in  spreading the Art of Dao to the people of the world 3000 years ago?”

He was still very fatigued, without any energy in his voice. 

Pei QianYue asked back instead: “Why would Master feel this?”

It’s not Feng Ci who felt this. Rather, it’s the deduction calculated by the Heavenly Principles after observing the development of the world for thousands of years.

This was the harsh reality.

If Feng Ci hadn’t spread the art of cultivation to the people of the world back then, the development of the cultivation world would have been much slower and the present crisis wouldn’t exist. 

He was the start of everything, the beginning of the karmic cycle.

Feng Ci nuzzled into the dip of Pei QianYue’s shoulder, not explaining anything.

Carrying Feng Ci, Pei QianYue arrived at the deepest part of the cavern.

During these years, even though Feng Ci’s physical body has left this place, Pei QianYue still came to take a look occasionally and live here for a period of time. As a result, the cavern was still filled with the presence of life. 

Pei QianYue placed Feng Ci down on that familiar stone bed. Body tilting sideways, Feng Ci followed the momentum to lay on Pei QianYue’s leg.

“I don’t think Master did anything wrong.” Pei QianYue said quietly as he played with Feng Ci’s hair.

Pei QianYue had remained silent for so long just now, Feng Ci even felt somewhat drowsy. Hearing these words, he didn’t even open his eyes and said with a smile: “How can I do any wrongs in your eyes.”

Even though his Xiao Hei has always been verbally unforgiving, he has never objected to any of Feng Ci’s decisions. 

Those tinted lenses weren’t any better than his own.

“I’m serious.” Pei QianYue said: “That war thousands of years ago plunged people’s lives into misery and destruction. The Central Plains was plagued by demons(妖魔) and monsters wreaking havoc, and ghosts and spirits running amuck. Yet at this time, the cultivation world had suffered heavy casualties and everyone was too overwhelmed to worry about others. If Master didn’t pass down the Art of Dao, who in the cultivation world back then would have the strength to subdue those demons(妖魔)?”

“Master saved the lives of millions of civilians. Why is this wrong?”

Feng Ci didn’t answer, the faint smile on the corner of his lips also vanished as well. 

“Master, you’re not a real god.” Pei QianYue’s soft yet deep voice echoed within the cave: “The people of the world view Grandmaster QianQiu as a deity, believing that you were born to save the people from disasters, believing that you’re omnipotent and invincible. But you’re not.”

He was only an ordinary person.

He can feel sorrow and fear, escape from problems, and chase after fleeting moments of bliss.

“The seed of karma that you planted 3000 years ago was because of a moment of kindness. Since it was a good thing at that time, how the world changes in the future has nothing to do with you.” Pei QianYue lowered his head and comforted Feng Ci in a warm voice: “Relax a little. You can’t repay everything clearly and have no need to take responsibility for these affairs.” 

Feng Ci buried his face into Pei QianYue’s chest and sighed quietly: “But someone will have to take responsibility eventually.”

Pei QianYue didn’t speak anymore.

Since the end of Feng Ci’s secluded cultivation until now, he has yet to close his eyes and get any rest. Feng Ci really couldn’t resist the sleepiness and said vaguely: “When I wake up from my sleep, I’ll switch back into my physical body and then……”

He didn’t finish his words. 

Pei QianYue lowered his head and called out quietly: “Master, are you asleep?”

There was no answer.

Feng Ci’s breathing gradually turned smooth and even, as if he had sunk into a deep sleep.

Pei QianYue silently sighed and pulled out a shiny little jade-white bottle. 

The bottle was open. The colorless, odorless drug placed within it had pretty much dispersed into the air. Pei QianYue closed the bottle and threw it casually to the ground.

This thing will make Feng Ci sleep for at least an entire day.

Pei QianYue carefully placed him on the stone bed and knelt next to the bed: “What you said is correct. Someone will have to take responsibility for these things eventually. Someone must…… bear the cost.”

“So I will go in your stead.” 

Feng Ci slept very heavily. His sleeping face was peaceful and tranquil.

Pei QianYue brushed the scattered strands of hair in front of Feng Ci’s forehead behind his ear: “Originally, I wanted to make you stay because of me, but now… I will actually be the first one to leave.”

“This way is fine as well. Perhaps to you, living… is a very very painful thing. If that’s the case, there’s no need for you to feel conflicted anymore.”

When saying this, Pei QianYue maintained a faint smile on his face, as if this was a rather happy thing for him: “However, regardless of what you decide in the future, I won’t give you a chance to repay me fully. I want you to be indebted to me for all eternity, not even finding relief in death.” 

Suddenly, however, he thought of something and the smile on his face faded again.

Pei QianYue bent down and pulled Feng Ci into his embrace with extreme gentleness and restraint.

He buried his face into the crook of Feng Ci’s neck and held him for a very long time. After a long, long time later, Pei QianYue’s slightly trembling voice finally sounded inside the cave.

“I really want to…… see another glimpse of you.” 

The morning light was faintly warm and bright.

The villagers, who had gotten up early to head to the market, walked in twos and threes on the mountain road. A man in black robes headed directly towards them. The man’s face was extremely handsome. Unfortunately, there was a small defect. His eyes were covered by a black ribbon; he seemed unable to see anything.

But the blindness in both eyes didn’t actually impede his walking. Just like this, he advanced steadily on the mountain road, step by step.

Someone was courageous enough to go up and strike a conversation: “Hey young sir, we’re pretty uninhabited here. Did you come in search of someone?” 

The black robed man stopped walking: “Is this place the Holy Mountain of Prayers?”

The person, who started the conversation, froze briefly; however, an old man to the side interrupted: “The name you mentioned is already hundreds of years old. This place is no longer called that. Our place here is……”

“No matter. This is the place I am seeking.”

The old man still wanted to say something, but the man didn’t intend to chat further with him and walked by them directly. 

The Holy Mountain of Prayers was where Gods descended to earth.

Legends say that back then, Saint Sovereign QianQiu had climbed to the top of the Holy Mountains of Prayers, kowtowing every three steps and paying respects every 9 steps to finally receive the Heavenly Principles’ mercy.

This place was once a place of worship and prayer for the cultivation world. However, no one has seen any signs of deities and gods in this place for thousands of years. Therefore, it slowly became deserted.

Pei QianYue didn’t fly on sword, but climbed the mountain on foot instead. 

When he started the climb, there were still some rays from the rising sun visible in the sky. However, by the time he reached the highest peak of the Holy Mountain of Prayers, the horizons had become covered by heavy, dark clouds, as if it was about to rain any time.

Here… was where Feng Ci had prayed for the descent of the Heavenly Principles.

Pei QianYue stood on the cliff of the highest summit and called out quietly: “Heavenly Principles.”

This summon seemed to activate a certain switch. A crack suddenly split open in the dark, cloud covered sky. A beam of golden light penetrated through the layers of clouds and illuminated the mountain peak. 

“A half Mo(魔) and half Yao(妖) thing, you dare call upon the Heavenly Principles.” A solemn and stately voice spoke up inside that golden light as a large blurry figure appeared inside: “What do you want?”

Pei QianYue: “To account for everything to you.”

“You cannot account for anything to the Heavenly Principles.” No emotions were audible in the Heavenly Principles’ voice: “Rebelling against the Will of Heaven, acting against Natural Order— the Son of Heaven will pay for the consequence of his actions. No one can take it in his place. The Heavenly Principles will find another envoy in this world to complete the unfinished task.”

“……Or are you saying, you want to become that envoy?” 

“Not quite.” Pei QianYue said: “Although I don’t care about the survival of those mortals, my Master can’t stand innocent people getting hurt. I won’t do something like that.”

“I came here today to make a deal with you.”

The Heavenly Principles did not answer.

That huge figure looked down at Pei QianYue from above, no joy or sorrow in his eyes. 

“The reason why the Heavenly Principles wants to exterminate the people of the world is because cultivators have exploited spirit deposits wantonly, causing the spirit energy of this world to whither close to exhaustion. Am I right?”

“Did the Son of Heaven tell you?”

“No.” Pei QianYue said: “It’s not hard to guess.”

Feng Ci really didn’t talk about the Heavenly Principles’ objective and reason to Pei QianYue before, not even mentioning the exhaustion of spirit energy. But Pei QianYue was the Immortal Alliance Leader after all. He understood the current state of the cultivation world better than anyone. 

Combined with the puppet’s mission inside the cultivation world, which had been ordered by the Heavenly Principles, it wasn’t difficult to guess the truth.

Pei QianYue said calmly: “If the Immortal Alliance took complete control of the cultivation world and managed the cultivation sects strictly from now on, supervising the extraction and use of spirit energy, will you give them another chance?”

Without waiting for the Heavenly Principles’ reply, he continued to say: “Of course, the spirit energy that should be returned to the Heaven and Earth, I will also account for.”

A slight wind lifted Pei QianYue’s robes and hair. He raised his head towards the Heavenly Principles and said nonchalantly: “I just don’t know… if my 3000 years of cultivation, this body full of spirit energy, is enough to make up for the spirit energy lost from this world.”