Vivid scarlet drops slipped down Li Huanhanâs toned arms as he soaked in a flowing pool of blood.
As he silently rested in the Blood Pond, the surface of his palm split open to reveal an eyeball.
âMaster,â Its voice was filled with fear. âMaster, your internal demons are about to go berserk! If you keep thinking those thoughts youâll surely go mad! Even if you are a demonic cultivatorâŚâ
The Blood Shadow could only get out half its plea before it felt like it was being choked by a terrifying force. It panted and cried out miserably, âXuehe Demon Lord! Li Huanhan! You might as well carve out your passion root! Is this how a demon is supposed to live? Why are you so desperate to endure?!â
It saw that Li Huanhan had no reaction, and its cries became more desperate. âItâs one thing to get internal demons when your parents were both murdered and turned into puppets all those years ago. But this situation is just too much! Have you ever heard of a Heavenly Demon that didnât get hard whenever they want?! Forcing yourself to abstain and be purehearted like thisâŚyou might as well become a monk!â
It suddenly let out an ear-splitting shriek and stopped talking. The eyeball stared fearfully towards its host.
Li Huanhan slowly opened his eyes. âHave you said enough?â
The Blood Shadow shrunk deeper into his hand, afraid to say a single word more.
In truth, the Blood Shadow was one of his internal demons, born from his youth spent crawling out of the Nine Layers of Hell. It has witnessed his weaknesses, his regrets and his most vulnerable moments.
Li Huanhan has led a blood-stained life.
The Blood Shadow couldnât help but sigh. âDemonic cultivation suits you much better than the route of immortals. Master, why donât you renounce that part of your foundation? Itâs of no use anywayâŚâ
It saw Li Huanhanâs gaze sweep over and immediately stopped, afraid it had said something wrong.
Li Huanhan tightly clenched his fist, and the Blood Shadow reluctantly withdrew. He re-dressed himself in his black robes and stood by the Blood Pond staring at the multitude of heart-cleansing artifacts and a bottle of calming medicine before him. His red gaze was calm.
Only he knew what his internal demons actually were.
Li Huanhan ran his hand over the artifacts and medicine before him, and they all began to weaken rapidly and disintegrate into dust.
The remains rained down from between his fingertips, the priceless treasures all rendered worthless.
Li Huanhan withdrew his hand as the temperature of his gaze dropped. Even with so many ways to cleanse his heart at his disposal, he remained trapped in the memories of that night.
As soon as he closed his eyes, his mind was filled with Shizun. From the first time he stood before him toâ
To that night when Jiang Yinghe was writhing and panting. The corners of his eyes were wet from tears forced out from desire. His icy foundation was unable to endure the flames of passion. His consciousness drifted in and out like he was injured. He unknowingly leaned on the body next to him.
Li Huanhan could still hear the moans and sobs emanating from his throat. He could also still feel the way Jiang Yingheâs body felt as it ground against his own. A sensual and moving creature had peeked out from his Shizunâs cold and distant facade.
The Shizun who made him worry just by frowning abandoned his frosty demeanor. He revealed the layers of his personality one by one as he struggled to stay afloat in a sea of pleasure. Without warning, he grabbed onto Li Huanhanâs sleeves of his own volition.
âEven if he was made of stone, he would be aroused by the hot neediness of Shizunâs touch.
He wasnât an upright gentleman nor a caring person. He wasnât attentive enough and had no sense of compassion for others. Li Huanhan felt like he was a tightly wound string being stretched to the breaking point between his instinct and desire to be a person of merit in Shizunâs eyes.
The possessiveness and desire to monopolize that he had hidden away in his fragile psyche were unearthed from just one pleading touch by this person.
His brittle control had snapped. With trembling fingers he stroked the jadeite skinâlike ice so cold it burned. Parting Shizunâs robes, he followed the path of muscle, toned through a millennium of sword practice, down to the pants clinging damply to the narrow hips. Before his mind could catch up with his hand, heâd opened the tie and taken the heated length into his palm, stroking and rubbing. Moans and pleas filled his ears and the hardness in his palm grew slippery and slick until his Shizun had erupted.
Ears ringing with the sounds of Shizunâs cries, his own body painfully erect, heâd cleaned up the mess theyâd made. And at this time Jiang Yinghe, who had been comforted by his discipleâs hand, was happily dozing off. Although his mind was still cloudy, at least heâd been able to release his pent up frustrations and was able to rest at last.
He has absolutely no memory of the events that took place afterwards. He didnât remember the way that slightly cool hand held him tightly and brushed over his cheeks and ears and the edges of his hair. He also didnât know how the other treated him as if he was a priceless treasure as he carefully planted a soft, yet passionate kiss on his lips.
Which is why he definitely didnât remember what heâd absentmindedly said after that secret kiss.
âYe-er, donât be naughtyâŚâ
It was like freezing water had been poured over him.
His internal demons climbed their way into his heart, drawing blood as they latched on.
The struggle to not immediately murder Chang Ye and forcibly take Jiang Yinghe back to the Tian Muo School was all Li Huanhan could think about as he left. This internal demon was much more relentless than the Blood Shadow, constantly reveling in his agony and suppressing his already fractured rationality.
It seemed that he wasnât able to be special in Shizunâs heart or his bedâthe springtime of humans was indeed ephemeral and brief.
Li Huanhan opened his eyes and sighed deeply. At the same time, the beaded curtain made a sound as the blind girl in red entered. âMaster, Chou-Mojun just sent word that Yao Wang Valley has discovered the old residence of Sword Saint Taichu.â
âEn.â
âTheyâŚencountered Xuan Wei Xianjun and were able to convince him somehow to accompany them there.â
Li Huanhan snapped his head up, a dark look in his eyes. âWhere?â
The blind lady replied, âAbove Yao Wang Valleyâs territory in the south.â
Li Huanhan nodded stiffly and made a gesture with his hands. The girl in red standing before him bowed and returned to Li Huanhanâs hand in the form of the blood-red Jimie sword. Several restrictions had already been lifted from the sword, but the most important one was still active. This correlated with the blindness of the young girl.
He hastily set out, leaving behind the dissonant sounds of the swaying curtain.
â-
On the other side, the first thing Jiang Yinghe and his companions saw as they approached the residence was an ancient stone plaque.
To be more specific, they hadnât reached the residence proper yet. This plaque seemed to function as a sign of sorts.
Jiang Yinghe came closer and noticed a thick layer of dust on the stone. He used a cleansing art to get rid of the impurities obscuring the plaque.
The true appearance of the stone was revealed. Jiang Yinghe originally meant to glance over it. But he was driven into a state of shock from its contents and could only stare blankly at it.
This world used a form of writing similar to seals, but with some even harder-to-interpret words. But the language carved onto the stoneâŚwas modern simplified Chinese.
Jiang Yinghe felt his heart skip a beat. His first thought was, âAm I not the only transmigrator? Was this Sword Saint one as well?â
The people around him were unable to understand, so he was reluctant to spend too much time on it. He quickly glanced over it to see that it read,
âIf people in the future can understand what Iâm writing, then you need to be careful. Try to remain calm when facing a small dark room. Thereâs no point in getting worked up over it.â
Jiang Yinghe: ââŚâ
He continued to read downwards and saw a smaller line engraved underneath.
âThe password incantation to open the door is the twenty-four words describing the five core values of socialism. Please recite them once through.â
Jiang Yinghe: ââŚWas this guy a civics teacher before crossing over? Whatâs wrong with him?â
He couldnât help but complain a little under his breath. Only Qin Jun who was beside him heard his muttering. He turned and quietly asked, âShizun, what did you say just now?â
âNothing.â Jiang Yinghe adjusted his emotions. He wondered if this senior had anticipated his arrival and left him this message.
He was preoccupied by this matter, so it wasnât until they had arrived at the front gate that he focused on what was in front of him.
âWe have scouted out the main entrance previously.â Chou Yongzhou said. âIt seems to be difficult to open with force due to the multiple restrictions placed on it. Jiang XianjunâŚâ
He saw Jiang Yinghe step up and recite twelve phrases with a blank expression.
Afterwards, the sturdy doors jolted, and the restrictions placed on them turned to allow the two sides to open.
Chou Yongzhou was speechless. The admiration and venerance he held for the elegant Jiang Yinghe in his heart rose dramatically. He couldnât help but ask, âXianjun, how didâŚâ
Jiang Yinghe: ââŚI read about it in a historical record.â
Chou Yongzhou had a serious demeanour. âMay I ask which record? Maybe there is more information related to the defenses laid by Sword Saint Taichu that we can use to minimize our losses.â
Jiang Yinghe glumly stared at him. â âFive Worthwhile Approaches to Communist Valuesâ. â
Not only Chou Yongzhou but the other Yao Wang Valley cultivators exclaimed their praises. âIâve never heard of such a book. Jiang Xianjun is very well-read indeed!â
Jiang Yinghe: ââŚYour praise is too much.â
His face wasnât thick enough for this, so he quickly led the others into the inner residence.
There werenât any terrible traps inside, nor anything suspicious. In fact, the most suspicious thing was that the supposed treasures left behind by this senior were nowhere to be seen.
It was just a simple manor inside. Jiang Yinghe entered and was instantly reminded of Earth by the decoration style. He mentally confirmed the identity of this Sword Saint as a fellow transmigrator.
He was most likely a senior that transmigrated before him that jokingly wrote those words on the stone plaque. He probably never thought that another person would trip on his way back from work and wake up hereâŚThe world truly acts in unpredictable ways.
Jiang Yinghe stepped over the first layer of arrays. The utensils inside were untouched by the marks of time. He suddenly noticed as he ventured forward that everything here was in pairs. There were two cups on the table and even two sword mantles.
It was just that the sense of beauty of the person that decorated them was very twisted. The top part was a minimalistic style from Earth while the bottom was all bright and garish colours. It seemed like something his youngest disciple would like.
He walked closer and saw an open book beside the sword mantle. There was a sparkling bookmark there. On the back was a phrase still in simplified Chineseâ
âDonât panic. Even if he locks you in a small dark room, he wonât force you. No matter which one of him it is.â
Jiang Yinghe was befuddled by these nonsensical messages. He was somewhat angry, but he had to suppress it and think calmly about this.
Was this an elaborate joke? Or did this person really predict the distant future? His future? Who was he referring to and how many of him were there?
He lightly sighed and was about to search elsewhere when there was a gasp from beside him.
Someone had triggered a hidden switch behind the sword mantle. The entire jade wall collapsed to reveal the shining bounty of artifacts and rare medications within.
A net of electricity also sprung up at the same time. Each arc sent cold sparks of light into the air. It was at least at the Hollowed Cave level.
Jiang Yinghe noticed a green bottle brimming with vitality on a table within. That was what he had come here for. He rose while instructing Jun-er. âStay here. If anything goes wrong, leave immediately.â
Qin Jun grabbed onto his arm and frowned. âShizun has not yet recovered, thisâŚâ
Jiang Yinghe withdrew his sleeves without letting him finish. âIf I find it difficult, then I will also leave.â
He approached the net and lifted a hand. His spiritual energy sank in and began to slowly interact with the purple lighting guarding the treasure. It then proceeded with extreme caution into the light itself.
The sub-zero energy froze the net section by section. The entire process required the utmost concentration. Jiang Yinghe allowed his spiritual energy to completely surround the light before swiftly retracting his hand.
The mighty electric net became brittle ice and shattered into pieces beneath his fingers.
Just as Jiang Yinghe breathed a sigh of relief as he retrieved that green vial, a terrible premonition arose in his heart. He quickly looked up to see a mirror hung above the rest of the artifacts suddenly brighten. An immense and unavoidable pressure almost on the level of Half-step Golden Immortals erupted from within.
A sword light emerged from the mirror.
It flew out with startling speed towards Jiang Yinghe. Before he could react, a familiar figure pushed him to the ground and blocked the sword light for him.
It was Qin Jun.
âBut there was no way Jun-er would be able to block a blow of this magnitude!
âJunââ Jiang Yinghe only got out half a word before falling silent.
He stared at the scene before him in shock.
Qin Junâs body had not been pierced by the sword light, nor did he disintegrate under the intense pressure. He was completely fine under the light shining from the mirror.
Under this beam of light, the flesh and blood on Qin Junâs body began to dissolve and evaporate. In the end, even his bones had disappeared to reveal the soul underneath.
No. This wasnât a soul. This was the solid body of a wraith.
His body became less transparent by the second as it returned to his original appearance. The limitations of a human body fell away as an awe-inspiring amount of resentful energy and pressure began to emanate from him. The Zhanyun sword that had been sealed for a long time began to hum as its restrictions cleanly lifted one by one to reveal its original lustre and shape.
The sword that could defy the heavens finally showed its true form.
At the same time, Qin Junâs level of cultivation rose steadily from the Primordial God stage through the Hollowed Cave stage. Then it passed through the first, second and third tribulations along with the five tests of mentality. The air around him was so charged that it might explode any minute now.
It finally stopped just above the Half-step Golden Immortal stage, his true level.
Jiang Yinghe looked at him in shock. Those steel-gray eyes stared back.
His mind had completely stopped working.
In the long silence, only one Yao Wang Valley cultivator was able to stammer out, âI-isnât that mirrorâŚthe Sword Saintâs Kanmi Mirror?!â
Authorâs Corner:
HeHe calm down, please calm down ah!!! Donât do something rash!!!
Rain: RIP Qin Jun⌠(･â˘Ě︿â˘Ě･)
Sahl: Well then. Guess the jig is up for Qin Jun. Can the green vial fix a complete lack of body? Also, Li Huanhanâs childhood! *sobs * Go rescue Shizun and tie him to your bed, baby boy! Sword Saint Taichu is hilarious! (And obviously found his one true love.âŁď¸)