Luo Yi was stunningly beautiful. She stepped across the duckweed on the lake surface, carrying a captivating fragrance as she rushed into the small zither pavilion. Her pair of snow-white jade arms wrapped around Zhang Ruochen’s neck, her long hair fluttering, her face full of joy and sweetness. She said, “You have never said such affectionate words to me before. I have not heard enough. Why not say them again?”
Her eyes, framed by long lashes, stared at Zhang Ruochen expectantly.
“Those were just my true feelings,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Luo Yi said, “Exactly. Precisely because they are your most genuine words from the heart, they moved me so much that I almost cried!”
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and looked towards the Funeral Gold White Tiger on the water. He said, “So you two conspired to deceive me?”
“It has nothing to do with me. It was Chi Yao who orchestrated it. She said only my mental power could conceal it from your perception.” The Funeral Gold White Tiger charged away, disappearing in the direction Chi Yao had left.
Luo Yi clung to Zhang Ruochen without restraint, showing none of the dignity of a noble princess or supreme god. She laughed loudly, “Chi Yao! This time, this princess has won the bet. You must honour it and accept your loss!”
“So what if you won?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“I will not tell you.”
Luo Yi looked at Zhang Ruochen and, seeing something unusual in his expression, said, “What is it? Are you angry?”
“A little.”
Zhang Ruochen did not embrace Luo Yi as she held him. His fingers idly plucked the zither strings.
How could he not be angry?
Before coming, he had been genuinely worried to death.
After arriving, he had almost fallen out with Chi Yao, nearly drawing his sword against her.
But in the end, he discovered that the only one taking it seriously was himself.
Luo Yi said, “See, this has nothing to do with me. I was just her captive. Everything was up to her! If you are truly angry, then I can only compensate you!”
“Compensate me?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Luo Yi’s crystal-clear red lips were inches from Zhang Ruochen’s, her beautiful eyes rippling with strong teasing intent. She said, “This princess is right here in your arms, and I threw myself at you willingly. Are you not pretending not to know? Since you are so angry, why not vent your anger on her too? This princess does not mind suffering a loss. Let her watch, let her listen. I am willing.”
Zhang Ruochen’s face darkened. He thought Luo Yi was far too bold. As a Hell Realm god in Doushuai City, she had no sense of danger at all.
Zhang Ruochen was not the petty sort who would quibble over gains and losses with the women he loved. His mood soon recovered. He said, “The divine war on the starry battlefield could end at any moment. You must leave!”
“I will not,” Luo Yi said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “The Hell Realm’s operation has already failed this time. Staying in the Tianchu Civilization’s great world will be extremely dangerous for you.”
“So you are concerned about me?” Luo Yi looked at him with a smile.
“Yes!”
“So you are not angry anymore?” Luo Yi said.
“Being deceived and treated as a tool for a bet, how could I have no emotions? This matter will not be let go so easily. In the future, I will certainly punish you both. As for how, you had better be mentally prepared.”
Chi Yao and Luo Yi, one was harder to manage than the other.
The key was that Zhang Ruochen’s feelings for them ran too deep. He simply could not treat them with extreme or ruthless methods.
Precisely because of this, even though his emotions had already dissipated, he still had to pretend to be extremely furious to keep them in check, lest they truly become lawless in the future and disregard him entirely.
Luo Yi smiled charmingly, alluring as a demoness. She said, “This princess fears punishment the least. It is a pity that this is Doushuai City, and your heart is probably tied to that heavenly maiden. That is why you have no mood to punish me.”
“Fine. This princess will not cause you trouble. I will leave now. Although this trip to the Tianchu Civilization failed to breach the boundary protection grand array, hearing those heartfelt words from you was a hundred times more joyful than breaching it. The harvest was immense!”
“Dust Ge, since you are sincere towards Luo Yi, Luo Yi will never betray you in this life.”
Imitating Chi Yao’s tone, she said very seriously, “Rescuing Uncle Ling is your matter, and it is also mine.”
Zhang Ruochen personally escorted Luo Yi out of Doushuai City before turning back.
Returning to the Divine Maiden Tower, he saw Chi Yao again.
On the way, Zhang Ruochen had intended to unleash his fury and put her in her place. But seeing Chi Yao sitting alone by the window, her expression lonely, his heart softened once more!
Chi Yao said, “I originally thought that the condition I offered would both preserve her life and rescue Uncle Ling. You would certainly choose that.”
“If I had chosen that, I would have completely severed ties with Luo Yi and the Hell Realm,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Chi Yao said, “Would that not be good? In your heart, is the Hell Realm really that great? That is not you!”
“It is not that the Hell Realm is good. In fact, I have never approved of the Hell Realm’s ideals. I even loathe them.” Zhang Ruochen stood with hands behind his back, looking out the window. He said, “I simply do not want to use such methods on those I love and care about.”
“What is the meaning of cultivation?”
“To end this war? To rebuild a new cosmic order?”
“No! If one cannot even uphold the most basic principles in one’s heart, no matter how strong the cultivation, one will ultimately become a promoter of war rather than the one to end the battlefield. To establish a new order, one must first have order in one’s own heart.”
Chi Yao said, “Perhaps we truly do not understand each other enough, and we will gradually drift apart because of it. What sustains us meeting as lovers is merely beautiful memories from the past. Probably just the beautiful memories we each hold later on, which were already so few, so we pretend everything is still as it was, hiding the barriers in our hearts.”
“Do not think too much. The road ahead is still long,” Zhang Ruochen said. He had never expected that in the end, he would be the one comforting her.
Chi Yao sat in the chair, her cheek resting against Zhang Ruochen, feeling the reality before her. She said, “Actually, Luo Yi is not bad. I can see that her feelings for you are genuine. But she is very clever and hides countless secrets in her heart. She upholds the Hell Realm’s ideals, believes in destiny, and reveres war and conquest.”
Zhang Ruochen naturally knew that Luo Yi harboured many secrets, just like how she had once transformed into Mo Xiaogu to cultivate in the Space Temple and Truth Temple. There must be a heaven-defying force behind her supporting her.
But she had never mentioned any of this to Zhang Ruochen.
Compared to Chi Yao, who often showed her emotions on her face, Luo Yi always wore a smile, and the secrets deep in her heart were almost impossible for anyone to truly fathom.
Chi Yao said, “You have already sent her away?”
“Yes,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Chi Yao said, “You have been deceived by her! She will not leave, at least not from the Tianchu Civilization for now.”
“Why?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Chi Yao said, “When I was pursuing her, I discovered that the other Luocha clan gods had all gone into hiding. This means that when they entered the Tianchu Civilization’s great world, they probably knew from the start that breaching the boundary protection grand array would not be so easy. Hiding must be part of planning some unknown major operation.”
“As the Luocha clan’s strategist and leader of the gods, how could Luo Yi possibly leave?”
“The reason she deceived you is simply because she knows of your relationship with Tianchu Xianzi. Once you learned of her actions, you would definitely stop her.”
Women understand women best. This saying is absolutely true.
Zhang Ruochen left the Divine Maiden Tower, leading Old Yellow Ox, and headed straight for Luo Jinshu’s residence. He had to see Luo Ji as soon as possible. Chi Yao’s words lingered in his mind, giving rise to strong unease.
Had Luo Yi really left?
If not, what was she planning?
Truly, not one of them gave him peace of mind.
Ahead, a golden carriage three zhang high approached. It was pulled by nine beast-shaped skeletons.
They were nine pseudo-gods of the Bone Clan, but refined, with no deathly aura on their bodies. Their bones were crystal clear, emitting faint divine light, clad in golden armour.
On the street, other cultivators could not sense the divine might of the nine Bone Clan pseudo-gods, so their gazes did not linger long on the carriage.
“Imprisoning nine Bone Clan god spirits as mounts. What boldness,” Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
The golden carriage stopped in front of Zhang Ruochen. From within came a vast voice, “Daoist Yellow Ox?”
It seemed the other party had come specifically for him.
Zhang Ruochen considered his perceptual abilities superior to most great gods, yet he could not tell if the voice was male or female, nor naturally perceive the speaker’s identity.
Zhang Ruochen carefully observed the golden carriage before him. On the walls and shafts were inscribed the two ancient characters “Xuanyuan”.
On either side of the carriage stood eighteen great saints, each clad in battle armour, their auras imposing.
The one at the front on the left was someone Zhang Ruochen recognised: Xuanyuan Liekong, whom he had met in the Kunlun Realm.
When the Kunlun Realm’s Merit Battlefield opened, Xuanyuan Liekong had been merely at the Saint King realm, yet he was the leader of the Wanxu Realm, the dominant world in the northern universe. His talent was exceptionally high.
Now, over a thousand years later, Xuanyuan Liekong’s cultivation had reached the Supreme Saint realm of great sainthood. His progress was remarkably swift.
Zhang Ruochen said, “It is indeed this poor daoist.”
Xuanyuan Liekong bowed towards Zhang Ruochen on the ox’s back and said, “My young master wishes to invite Senior Yellow Ox to detoxify the Three Evils Corpse Poison for a great god of the demon clan.”
How proud was Xuanyuan Liekong? With his noble status and peerless talent, he had the potential to become a god.
Such a figure would only address a god as “senior”. Just who was in the carriage to make Xuanyuan Liekong act as humbly as a servant?
Zhang Ruochen had not expected that, after all the twists, someone else would come to invite him to detoxify the Three Evils Corpse Poison.
Who else could it be for?
It had to be Granny Tianhu without doubt.
From within the carriage, that vast voice sounded again, “Fellow daoist, do not be hasty in refusing. This young master is very sincere and has prepared a generous gift. See the gift first. It is not too late to refuse after.”
“No need!” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Please look first, fellow daoist.”
A corner of the golden carriage’s curtain lifted, and a wooden box flew out, landing in Xuanyuan Liekong’s hands.
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes, trying to peer into the carriage to see who it was. But inside seemed to hide a chaotic world that devoured sight. He could see nothing.
…
After live-streaming coding each day, the updates have finally stabilised. There is now one chapter in reserve. Haha!
Readers who want to supervise can come to Douyin to watch. Just search “Feitian Yu”. I live-stream coding every day.
