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Jiang Chao Ge felt the flow of time freeze, and everyone looked at Yun Xi incredulously.
Yun Xi didn’t know what was happening and was terrified. He dared not touch the ancient guqin and tried to move away.
“Yun Xi!” Jiang Chao Ge shouted, “Summon Yin Chuan!”
“Wha…what?” Yun Xi was confused.
“Quickly summon Yin Chuan!”
After the Zhi Shou Snake stiffened for a moment, it cautiously extended its head and no longer faced the guqin and Yun Xi directly. Instead, it circled around, trying to approach Yun Xi from the side.
Yun Xi had nowhere to hide on the open stone platform and looked at the instrument again.
“Yun Xi, hurry!” Yu Ren Shu urged.
Trembling, Yun Xi carefully touched the guqin and asked with a trembling voice, “I… I summon…?”
“Faster!”
Yun Xi’s face turned pale. On one side was the Zhi Shou Snake waiting for him, and on the other side was the mysterious instrument. He had no idea what he would summon. Although he had heard the name “Yin Chuan” countless times and knew it referred to the ancient divine beast, Bai Ze, he still didn’t know what to expect.
Remembering the ancient divine beasts he had seen, the Qilin and Hun Dun, both of which looked like terrifying demons, who knew what the Bai Ze would grow into. Furthermore, once he truly summoned the divine beast, it meant that he might bear a huge responsibility. He didn’t know what he would face, but he knew he didn’t have the courage to use a legendary god-level spirit weapon, let alone confront a beast like Xiao Xue?!
Seeing him trembling with fear, everyone was anxious and frustrated. Ruan Qiansu angrily shouted, “Yun Xi! Do you want to watch us all be swallowed by the snake?!”
“Qian…Qiansu sister…” Yun Xi was so anxious that he was about to cry, “I… I can’t do it.”
“Even if you’re scared, you still have to do it!” Ruan Qiansu gripped the crescent blades in her hand and, although she was seriously injured, she still exuded an imposing presence. “Either summon Yin Chuan or I’ll show you mercy and chop off your head right now and spare you from further punishment!”
Yun Xi’s face twisted.
The Zhi Shou Snake had already circled to his side. The two snake heads, one large and one small, were poised at the ready. The long and narrow snake eyes glinted fiercely, looking malicious.
Yun Xi screamed, closed his eyes, and threw himself at the guqin, pouring all of his remaining spiritual power into it. The ancient instrument suddenly emitted a dazzling white light, shining throughout the cave, making it almost impossible to open their eyes. A mighty force burst out, knocking the Zhi Shou Snake to the ground, and it groaned humbly and fearfully. Everyone’s hearts gradually numbed. They were oppressed by the force and had difficulty breathing, as if something was squeezing their space, giving them the illusion of being devoured.
Within the white light, gradually emerged a huge glowing figure, the size of a small mountain, no different from other ancient divine beasts, and almost filled the entire cave.
The cave began to shake violently, and small particles of dust rose up and floated around. Jiang Chao Ge felt like he might be buried alive in the next second, but the cave held up.
As the white light faded away, everyone’s eyes still couldn’t adjust, because a gigantic, snow-white divine beast appeared before them.
With a long tail like a deer, hooves like a stag, double wings on the back, goat horns on the head, and a long white fur covering its body, its mane was like a godly being that had descended without wind. Its pair of ice-blue eyes were gentle and calm, like the lakes of the Tianshan Mountains, seemingly capable of accommodating everything in the world. If there was a word to describe all the ancient divine beasts that Jiang Chao Ge had seen, then it would be the overwhelming majesty of the Zhi Xuan, the noble and dignified Ren Wang, the deceitful and wicked Xiao Xue, and the pure and noble Bai Ze.
Yes, noble, the kind of beauty and nobility that transcends the world, makes the divine beast before them didn’t look like a divine beast, but rather like a god.
As soon as the Zhi Shou Snake saw the Bai Ze, it groveled on the ground and didn’t dare move.
Zhi Xuan opened his mouth and whispered, “Yin Chuan.”
The icy blue eyes surveyed the surroundings, and after a slight daze, he shook his pure white fur freely and let out a soft sigh, “Ah, I’m awake.” His voice was as gentle as a stream, refreshing the heart and lungs. He looked at Zhi Xuan and laughed softly, “Zhi Xuan.”
Zhi Xuan walked excitedly towards Yin Chuan, “Yin Chuan, you finally…” He wanted to forcibly summon the true form earlier, but the result was consuming all his spiritual power in an instant. He took only two steps before his body instantly shrank down and turned back into a bean-like entity.
Yin Chuan was stunned for a moment and laughed.
Zhi Xuan looked at himself and immediately became irritated and embarrassed, “What’s going on?! Jiang Chao Ge!”
Jiang Chao Ge quickly poured his spiritual power into Zhi Xuan’s body, but no matter how much he poured, it was useless. Compared to Zhi Xuan’s coma that lasted for seven or eight days, this time he only temporarily shrank, which was already lucky.
Zhi Xuan was furious and wanted to throw a tantrum, but it was useless.
Yin Chuan turned his head and looked at Yun Xi.
Yun Xi was stiff all over, looking at the ancient divine beast he had summoned, his face full of disbelief.
Yin Chuan gently lowered his head and brought his nose closer to Yun Xi.
Yun Xi looked at the massive head coming closer, and trembled in fear.
Yin Chuan stopped moving and whispered, “Don’t be afraid.”
Yun Xi was like he had been bewitched, nodding in a daze.
Yin Chuan’s body shimmered, gradually shrinking, until he reverted to his human form. He had pure white hair that went down to the ground, with ice-blue eyes deep with a hint of melancholy, almost suffocating to look at. His skin and lips were extremely pale, as if he was glowing all over. His face was exquisitely beautiful beyond this world, like something that wasn’t supposed to appear in the mortal realm.
He bent down and grabbed Yun Xi’s arm, gently helping him up.
Yun Xi was still in a state of stiffness, looking like he was surprised and overwhelmed by the attention.
Yin Chuan stared at his eyes and watched for a while, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Yun Xi felt his scalp tingle under his gaze and avoided eye contact.
“You…” Yin Chuan hesitated to speak, his gaze filled with a hint of inescapable sadness, but eventually he let him go with some disappointment.
Yin Chuan set up a stone platform and walked up to the Zhi Shou Snake, gently caressing its head as he said softly, “Qing Shuang, you’ve worked hard these years.”
The Zhi Shou Snake flickered and transformed into a human, prostrating on the ground and trembling, not daring to raise its head, only choking out, “Master Yin Chuan…”
Yin Chuan hand followed her chestnut-colored hair to her shoulder and continued to stroke it, saying, “You did not disappoint his trust, and from now on, you are free.”
Qing Shuang still trembled slightly and remained silent.
Yin Chuan walked forward, bending over to pick up the angry and unhappy Zhi Xuan from the ground, and said with a smile, “I’ve never seen you like this before, so much cuter than any other time I’ve seen you.”
Zhi Xuan fiercely grabbed his hair and pulled it, “You think I want to be like this!”
Yin Chuan touched his head and said gently, “Regardless of what you look like, it’s still you, don’t worry about it.”
“You say it so easily, I was mocked by Ren Wang and Xiao Xue.”
“You saw Ren Wang and Xiao Xue?”
Zhi Xuan hummed an affirmative, “Uhm.”
Yin Chuan looked solemn, “Is everyone awake…”
“I only know that Ren Wang, Xiao Xue, and Su Han have awakened, but not necessarily the others.”
Yin Chuan looked around, “Did you all come here to find me?”
Jiang Chao Ge met Yin Chuan’s gaze and had an urge to worship. Seeing the all-white Yin Chuan holding the all-black Zhi Xuan, the scene was surprisingly harmonious, giving people the feeling that they were of the same kind. In fact, it was true, Zhi Xuan and Yin Chuan, Qilin and Bai Ze were of the same kind. Jiang Chao Ge was not feeling good about it. How could Zhi Xuan be so blind as to think of himself as his mate? They simply didn’t seem to belong in the same world.
“I came to you for something,” Zhi Xuan pointed to Jiang Chao Ge on the ground, “Yin Chuan, tell me quickly, is he my mate?”
Jiang Chao Ge felt his face heat up. Did this ancestor have any sense of priority? Was this the right time and place to talk about this?
Yin Chuan couldn’t help but laugh, “You didn’t come find me just for this, did you?”
“Never mind that, you tell me first, and then tell him,” Zhi Xuan was serious.
Jiang Chao Ge wished he could find a hole to hide in.
Yin Chuan also looked at Jiang Chao Ge seriously for a moment, then said confidently, “Zhi Xuan, if you like him, he is your mate, regardless of whether he is a human and you are a beast, or whether it’s male or female. If you like him, he is your mate for life.”
Zhi Xuan looked at Jiang Chao Ge, and he swallowed, his adam’s apple rolling up and down. His face turned red suddenly, and he buried his face in Yin Chuan’s hair, holding onto his neck.
Yin Chuan smiled and patted his back.
Yun Xi finally regained his composure and got up from the ground. He went to help Ruan Qiansu and then began to work on stopping the bleeding on Sisi’s leg. He gave Long Xiang and Jiang Chao Ge each a pill to make them sleep, working alone with his head down.
Yin Chuan put down Zhi Xuan and walked towards Yun Xi.
Yun Xi saw the white figure approach, and instinctively backed away, hid behind Ruan Qiansu and peeked out with a slightly frightened look.
Yin Chuan smiled, “I’m here to help you.”
“Are you… a spirit priest?”
“No, but I have medical skills.”
Yun Xi hesitated for a moment, then took out five large medicine boxes from his storage bag, opened them one by one, and then moved away from Yin Chuan.
Yin Chuan looked at Jiang Chao Ge and asked, “What kind of venom?”
“Fei Yi.”
Yin Chuan searched through the medicine box, took out herbs and beast ingredients, and made medicine on the spot before walking towards Jiang Chao Ge.
Yun Xi used a silver needle to stop the bleeding on Sisi’s leg, then rushed over to Yin Chuan to take the things that were not properly placed in the medicine box and put them back according to their labels. The directions of the bottle openings were all completely aligned. After finishing this task, he breathed a sigh of relief and went back to treat the heavily injured Sisi.
Yin Chuan smiled and glanced at him, his ice-blue eyes filled with tenderness. He borrowed a dagger from Jiang Chao Ge and made two cuts at the lymph nodes under Jiang Chao Ge’s armpit, then fed him medicine. Soon, the two cuts began to bleed black blood, which was shocking to see.
After the blood was completely drained, Jiang Chao Ge didn’t feel like he had lost too much blood. Instead, the numbness in his limbs gradually disappeared, and he felt relaxed.
Zhi Xuan happily asked, “Chao Ge, are you feeling better?”
Jiang Chao Ge moved his fingers, surprised that he could move them again. He was overjoyed and felt like he had finally come back to life.
Yun Xi looked at Yin Chuan in astonishment and whispered, “Can you really heal like this?”
Yin Chuan nodded with a smile.
Yun Xi looked at Sisi’s mangled leg and spoke even softer, “It will take at least half a month for my spiritual power to cure him. Do you… have any way, Lord Yin Chuan?”
Yin Chuan walked over and carefully examined Sisi’s wound. Sisi wailed, “Am I going to be crippled?”
Yun Xi said, “He will now have a limp.”
Sisi cried even louder.
Long Xiang said, “Save some energy.”
Yin Chuan placed his cold hand on Sisi’s forehead and said, “Don’t be afraid, you’ll be fine.”
Sisi immediately stopped making noise and secretly looked at Yin Chuan from the corner of his eyes.
Yin Chuan pointed out where Sisi’s bone was cracked, which and how much medicine to use, and how to balance spiritual power treatment and medication to achieve maximum efficiency. He spoke confidently and clearly, leaving Yun Xi stunned.
After he finished speaking, admiration filled Yun Xi’s eyes. “Lord Yin Chuan, you are truly knowledgeable…”
“Don’t call me Lord Yin Chuan.” Yin Chuan looked calmly at Yun Xi, his ice-blue eyes flickering with indecipherable emotions.
“Um, then… Can I call you teacher?”
Yin Chuan smiled. “Okay.”
Yun Xi said excitedly, “Teacher, please continue to guide me.”
Yin Chuan discussed the treatment plans for all the injured people with Yun Xi, leaving Yun Xi completely in awe and practically kneeling down in admiration.
After all the injured people were settled, Yin Chuan noticed that Qing Shuang was still kneeling.
He went over and helped Qing Shuang up.
Qing Shuang lowered her head, “Qing Shuang has offended Lord Yin Chuan’s friend. Please punish me, Lord Yin Chuan.”
Yin Chuan touched her hair and said with a light smile, “Silly child, your loyalty will never change. No one will punish you.”
Qing Shuang finally lifted her head, her narrow and charming green eyes tilted upwards, and her thin lips were purple-red, beautiful yet poisonous and captivating.
Sisi took another look and continued to howl, “Sister, you’re so beautiful, why do you have to hide in a cave and eat people? I’m going to be crippled! Waaah…”
Yun Xi rubbed his temples. “If you howl again, I’ll put you to sleep.”
“No, no, I want to stay awake.”
“Isn’t it painful?” Jiang Chao Ge couldn’t help but ask.
“I can’t feel my whole leg, so it’s not painful.” Sisi sniffled, afraid to even look at his own leg.
Yin Chuan said, “You guys are all injured, so stay here for a few days. Tell me what’s happening outside. I’ve been asleep for ten thousand years, so I’m afraid everything has changed.”
Tian Rong and Zui Yu set up the tent and carried the injured people in, turning the messy cave into their shelter.
Yin Chuan and Zhi Xuan sat facing each other. Yin Chuan asked, “How long have you been awake?”
“More than half a year,” Zhi Xuan stared at him.
“What happened after that? Is there any news about the elements of heaven and earth?”
Zhi Xuan stared at him in silence.
“What’s wrong?”
“I won’t let you talk to me like that,” Zhi Xuan said bluntly.
Yin Chuan laughed and looked at him. “What do you want?”
“I want you to become like me.”
Yin Chuan shook his head helplessly, and actually cooperated with Zhi Xuan to become a child-like appearance. “Is this okay?”
Tian Rong and Zui Yu were a bit smug. It seemed that they weren’t the only ones who had to endure Zhi Xuan’s unreasonable demands. Even powerful ancient monsters had to compromise.
Zhi Xuan was satisfied and began to talk about everything that had happened after he woke up.
Yin Chuan’s expression became more and more serious as he listened. “It’s a shame that Xiao Xue’s true nature hasn’t changed, causing such a disastrous slaughter.”
“As far as we know, they are the only ones who have awakened so far. But we have been in Kunlun Mountain for a month, and we don’t know what has happened outside,” Zhi Xuan tilted his head and glanced smugly at Yun Xi, “I never expected that he would be the one who fits with you. He’s even more useless than Jiang Chao Ge.”
Yin Chuan laughed, “Although he is not a spirit weapon master, he has his own unique qualities.”
Jiang Chao Ge felt a little complicated. Yun Xi was timid, solitary, and really didn’t seem like material that could handle a divine-level spirit weapon. But to say that he was inferior to himself, well, at least he could summon Yin Chuan’s true body.
Zhi Xuan looked at the ancient guqin and asked, “Why were you turned into that thing?”
Yin Chuan glanced at the instrument with a hint of sadness in his eyes. He didn’t answer the question and instead said, “Let’s go find Ren Wang after they’re healed. If Xiao Xue and Su Han gather, Ren Wang will be in danger.”
“We also have the same idea,” Yu Ren Shu agreed. “Lord Yin Chuan, we have traveled a long way to find you, hoping that you can stop another battle of the beasts from happening on earth.”
Zhi Xuan glared at him with dissatisfaction, “Why do you use ‘Lord’ for Ren Wang and Yin Chuan, but not for me?”
Yu Ren Shu ignored him and just looked straight at Yin Chuan.
Yin Chuan sighed softly, “Ten thousand years ago, I had also hoped to stop that battle, but unfortunately… I hope that with a new lease on life, they can change some of their ideas, such as Ren Wang… Otherwise, relying solely on our strength, we will repeat the same mistakes.”
“At least the elements of heaven and earth haven’t appeared yet, so the situation is not yet dire,” Yin Chuan nodded, his expression still heavy.
Suddenly, Zhi Xuan remembered something, “Oh, Yin Chuan, before we entered Kunlun Immortal Boundary, we saw a statue of Di Jiang. These ungrateful humans, when we leave here, let’s destroy the statue.”
Yin Chuan was taken aback, his eyebrows slightly furrowed and his eyes dimmed.
“Yin Chuan?”
Yin Chuan changed the subject, “You said Ren Wang is in the north?”
“Not necessarily,” Zhi Xuan said. “He said if he can’t find the elements of heaven and earth in the north, he’ll go elsewhere.”
Yin Chuan nodded, “I’ll find him.”
Yun Xi temporarily treated everyone’s wounds, exhausted and out of breath, and sat next to the medicine box, stealing glances at Yin Chuan. Whenever Yin Chuan turned his head, he swiftly looked away to the side, pretending to straighten up the already tidy medicine box.
Zhi Xuan looked at Yun Xi with disdain, “Do you want to form a contract with him?”
Yin Chuan nodded.
“Don’t you want to wait for a more powerful spirit weapon master?”
Yin Chuan shook his head, “There’s no one else.”
“No one else? What do you mean?”
“In the world, I only have one person who can match with me, which is him.”
Zhi Xuan was stunned, “What?”
Yin Chuan glanced at Jiang Chao Ge, closed his eyes, and said calmly, “Just remember this, he is the only spirit weapon master who can match with you.”
After a moment of silence, Zhi Xuan suddenly became angry and pushed Yin Chuan to the ground, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier! I could’ve formed a contract with him earlier!”
Everyone was frightened, even a speck of dust on Yin Chuan’s sleeves felt like an insult to his purity in this mundane world.
While Zhi Xuan was being unreasonable, Yin Chuan wasn’t angry at all. He just sat up, dusted off his clothes, and smiled, “If I had met you earlier, I would have told you.”
Zhi Xuan ran to Jiang Chao Ge, crouched down, and accepted his fate, “Looks like it can only be you.” After speaking, his lips couldn’t help but curl up.
Jiang Chao Ge couldn’t help but laugh, “Sorry for inconveniencing you.”
Yin Chuan stood up and walked towards the ancient guqin on the stone platform. When he came to the instruments side, he transformed into an adult. He gently stroked the guqin with his slender fingers, his face calm and unreadable. He stood there motionless for a long time.
They spent the day in a haze, with some cooking and others resting in the damp and dark cave.
After dawn on the second day, they left the cave and found a sunny place to camp and recuperate from their injuries.
Yun Xi was exhausted everyday and would occasionally complain that he was forced to do manual labor all the time since he was tricked into coming here, with not enough spiritual power to spare, which caused everyone to mock him.
Yun Xi went from being in awe and even afraid of Yin Chuan to becoming his devoted follower in just a few days. Yin Chuan was like a library, with an endless supply of knowledge to draw from, which was like a precious treasure to Yun Xi.
However, Yin Chuan was eager to make up for the knowledge he had missed out on during his ten thousand-year slumber, and had already read all of Yun Xi’s medical books in just two days, making him unsatisfied.
Jiang Chao Ge was stretching and exercising to relieve his muscles, which had been numb for several days. Zhi Xuan had just finished chatting with Yin Chuan and walked over.
The two of them had been talking quite a bit these past few days, about things that seemed to be from the past, and Jiang Chao Ge couldn’t understand a word. He used to find it annoying that Zhi Xuan was always sticking to him, but now that Zhi Xuan wasn’t, he felt uncomfortable. He couldn’t help but wonder when he had become so cheap…
When Zhi Xuan came over, Jiang Chao Ge quickly went up to him, “Did you go talk to Yin Chuan?”
Zhi Xuan nodded happily, “I’ve forgotten a lot of things, but he remembers everything.”
“Like what?”
“Like things from the past,” Zhi Xuan sighed, “it feels like they were just yesterday.”
Jiang Chao Ge looked at Qing Shuang, who was picking herbs with her snake body twisting around. The snake with heads on both ends still looked a little scary to him. He asked, “What’s the deal with the snake?”
Zhi Xuan shrugged, “Yin Chuan said she was Di Jiang’s servant. After he died, he left her to guard over Yin Chuan at Xuan Yuan Hill. She sleeps here most of the time, only waking up when someone comes in to disturb Yin Chuan.”
“That’s sincere.”
Zhi Xuan hummed, “Stinky.”
“What else did Yin Chuan say? Is there any other way to quickly enhance my spiritual power?”
“The best way, of course, is to form a soul contract,” Zhi Xuan replied arrogantly.
“Besides that?”
“Breeding to form a soul contract.”
Jiang Chao Ge clicked his tongue, “Besides that?”
“I didn’t ask,” Zhi Xuan pouted in displeasure.
“The most important thing, and you didn’t ask,” Jiang Chao Ge pushed him away, “go ask.”
Yin Chuan’s human form, so ethereal.
Yin Chuan’s beast form, so elegant.
White Tiger Ren Wang and his blind summoner.